| Identification |
This is a 20″ to 40″ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises from a rhizome. It often forms clumps.
The stems are erect, ribbed, and either branched above the middle or unbranched. They do not have prickles. The lower stem is hairless or almost hairless. The upper stem is covered with, straight, stiff, appressed, downward-pointing hairs.
The leaves are alternate, 2″ to 6¾″ long, and ¾″ to 4″ wide. Lower leaves are on ⅜″ to ¾″ long leaf stalks, upper leaves are nearly stalkless. The leaf stalks are not winged. There is a small sheath (ocrea) that surrounds the stem at the base of each leaf stalk. The ocrea is ⅜″ to ¾″ long, brownish, thin, and membranous. It is covered with brownish or rust-colored, straight, stiff, appressed hairs. The margins have a fringe of upward-pointing, 1 ⁄32″ to ⅛″ long bristles. The leaf blade is broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped. It is tapered at the base and tapers to a sharp point at the tip. The upper surface is rough to the touch and sparsely hairy to hairless. The lower surface is hairy. The margins are untoothed.
The inflorescence is a thin, 4″ to 14″ long, interrupted, unbranched, spike-like array (raceme) at the end of the stem. Flowers appear in widely-spaced clusters of 1 to 3.
Each flower is about ⅛″ long. There are 4 white to greenish-white, sometimes pinkish sepals. There are no petals. There are 4 stamens with white filaments and pale yellow or white anthers. The stamens protrude slightly from the sepals. There are 2 styles.
The fruit is a brown to dark-brown, hard, egg-shaped achene. The sepals persist, covering all but the tip of the fruit. The styles persist, forming a hooked beak at the tip of the fruit. Bumping the plant will cause the mature achene to jump about ⅛″ long off the fruiting stalk, giving this plant its common name. The hooked beak aids dispersal in the fur of animals. |
