Cynoglossum officinale
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Overview
- Appearance
- Cynoglossum officinale is a biennial plant that can grow from 8-48 in. (0.2-1.2 m) tall. The first year’s growth is strictly vegetative with flowering occurs the second year.
- Foliage
- The first year, the basal leaves are petiolate, elliptical, dark green and 6-8 in. (15.2-20.3 cm) long. The leaves on the flowering stem are alternate and narrower towards the top of the plant.
- Flowers
- In the early summer, flowers appear in racemes from the axils of the upper leaves. Flowers are reddish-purple with a five-lobed corolla.
- Fruit
- Each flower can produce up to 4 fruits. The fruits are nutlets, the surfaces of which are flat and densely covered with small, barbed hooks (glochidia) that facilitate dispersal by animals.
- Ecological Threat
- Cynoglossum officinale invades disturbed areas, roadsides, rangeland, old fields and meadows, forest margins, riparian zones and coastal sand dunes. It is native to Eurasia.
Resources
Zouhar, Kris 2002. Cynoglossum officinale. Fire Effects Information System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory [1]
Global Invasive Species Database. 2011. Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission[2]
King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Water and Land Resources Division [3]
U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center [4]
Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board [5]
University of California, Jepson Flora Project [6]
CABI Invasive Species Compendium [7]
Oregon Department of Agriculture [8]
Nevada department of Agriculture [9]
California Invasive Plant Council [10]
USDA NRCS PLANTS [11]
USDA ARS GRIN [12]
Images from Bugwood.org
