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Sunday - July 18, 2010
From: Centerville, TN
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
My daughter is working on a wildflower collection for her Biology class, we have found a flower, that, for appearances sake, is identified in books as Selfheal. This flower is taller than pictures we are seeing, it has a red/purple stem, no downy hair under leaves, does not smell of anise, and the flower coming out of the bracts is a deep purple color, not the light pink/purple color we see of the Selfheal. The only similarity to that plant is the way the flower is bract. Can you help?ANSWER:
I have one suggestion for the description that you gave of the flower your daughter found. It could possibly be Verbena stricta (hoary verbena). Here are more photos from Minnesota Wildflowers, Kansas Wildflowers & Grasses, and from Nearctica. If that isn't it, please send us photos and we will do our best to identify it. Visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page for instructions for submitting photos.
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