Comandra umbellata ssp. umbellata

Native

Dry, moderate, or wet. Prairies, prairie fens, open woods, shores, dunes. Full or partial sun.

May to July

Greenish-white to white

4″ to 12″

This is a 4″ to 12″ tall, erect, often branched, leafy, perennial herb that rises from fibrous roots and horizontal rhizomes. It often forms colonies and a single clone can cover a large area. It is semi-parasitic, deriving water and nutrition from the roots of other plants, but also getting nutrition from photosynthesis. Hosts for this parasite includes herbs such as Aster, Antennaria, Solidago, shrub species such as Rosa, Rubus, Fragaria, Vaccinium, tree species such as Acer, Betula, Populus, as well as Carex and various grasses.

The stems are light green, hairless, leafy, and usually branched.

The leaves are alternate or scattered, hairless, and untoothed. They are green on both sides, possibly somewhat lighter green on the underside, but they are not glaucous. They are oval, more than half as wide as long, or oblong, two to four times longer than wide with nearly parallel sides. They are ¾″ to 2″ long and up to ¾″ wide. They attach to the stem with a short leaf stalk or no leaf stalk at all. The tips are usually pointed.

The inflorescence is a compact, somewhat flattened cluster of 12 or more small flowers at the end of some of the stems.

The flowers are ¼″ wide and funnel-shaped. There are 3 to 6 (usually 5) petal-like, greenish-white to white tepals (sepals), fused at the base into a floral tube (hypanthium), and flared at the tips. The tepal lobes beyond the floral tube are less than ⅛″ long. There are no petals. The flowers are not fragrant.

The fruit is small, ⅛″ to ¼″ thick, nearly spherical, fleshy, edible, and contains a single seed. They are at first green, then turn brown as they mature.

Pale bastard toadflax (Comandra umbellata ssp. pallida) is a more western variety and has been recorded only in Clay and Becker counties in the northwest. The leaves are thicker, often narrower, more or less glaucous, and lack evident lateral veins. The tepal lobes beyond the floral tube are narrower and ⅛″ long or longer. It has larger fruit, ¼″ to ⅓″ thick.

False toadflax (Geocaulon lividum) is a northern species. It has been recorded only in Cook and Roseau Counties. It has greenish-purple flowers rising from the middle and upper leaf axils. The flowers do not have a hypanthium. The fruit is an orange to red, juicy berry.