Agalinis aspera (Rough False Foxglove)

Plant Info
Also known as: Rough Purple False Foxglove, Rough Gerardia
Genus:Agalinis
Family:Orobanchaceae (Broomrape)
Life cycle:annual
Origin:native
Habitat:sun; dry, sandy prairies, open woods
Bloom season:August - October
Plant height:6 to 24 inches
Wetland Indicator Status:GP: FACU MW: FACU NCNE: FACU
MN county distribution (click map to enlarge):Minnesota county distribution map
National distribution (click map to enlarge):National distribution map

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Detailed Information

Flower: Flower shape: 5-petals Flower shape: tubular

[photo of flower]  Stalked flowers along branching stems, with 2 flowers per node and a leaf-like bract at the base of each stalk. Flowers are pink to purple, ½ to 1+ inch (1.5 to 2.8 cm), tubular with 5 round lobes that have a fringe of short hairs along the edge. The 2 upper lobes are slightly smaller than the lower 3 and are erect to spreading, the lower lobes more spreading. The tube throat is pale pink to white with reddish spots; 4 pale-tipped stamens barely extend out of the tube. Outer surfaces are covered in short, fine hairs, the inner surfaces are hairless or nearly so.

[photo of calyx] The calyx cupping the flower has 5 short, sharply triangular teeth. Flower stalks are hairless, up to ~¾ inch (4 to 20 mm) long; bracts are linear and longer than the stalk. Each flower only lasts a day before falling off and only a few flowers per branch bloom at a time.

Leaves and stems: Leaf attachment: opposite Leaf type: simple

[photo of leaves] Leaves are opposite, linear, stalkless, erect to ascending, ½ to 2+ inches (1.5 to 5+ cm) long and about 1mm wide, the toothless edges typically rolled under, the upper surface covered in short, stiff hairs, the lower surface hairless, and there are often small leaf clusters in the axils (fascicles). Stems are angled and rough from sparse, short, stiff hairs. Branches are ascending to nearly erect.

Fruit: Fruit type: capsule/pod

[photo of fruit] Fruit is an oval to cylindrical capsule about 1/3 inch (6.5 to 11 mm) long, rounded at the tip, and longer than the calyx. Inside the capsule are many dark brown seeds.

Notes:

While not considered a rare species in Minnesota, Rough False Foxglove is not commonly encountered, perhaps because it does not produce colonies and tends to get lost in surrounding vegetation unless the spot of color from the showy flowers catches one's eye. A robust plant may be near 2 feet tall, many-branched with many flowers, but most we encountered were under a foot tall. The Agalinis species may all appear similar, but can be distinguished by combinations of characteristics. Rough False Foxglove is a species of dry, sandy prairie with linear, rough textured leaves, flower stalks all shorter than the subtending bract, and fruits distinctly longer than the calyx. The rare Round-stemmed False Foxglove (Agalinis gattingeri) is the only other Agalinis species in Minnesota that shares that habitat, but is hairless to slightly rough textured, with smaller, longer-stalked flowers mostly single at the nodes and bracts all shorter than the stalk. The other MN Agalinis species are all found in wetter habitats and have broader leaves.

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More photos

Photos courtesy K. Chayka and Peter M. Dziuk taken at Glacial Lakes State Park, Pope County. Photos by John Thayer taken at Spring Creek Wildlife Management Area, Becker County.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Eric - Anoka Co.
on: 2015-09-03 21:14:14

Found in Blaine Preserve SNA. They're really tiny and usually mixed in with a lot of other grasses but they're scattered throughout the SNA.

Posted by: K. Chayka
on: 2015-09-04 06:46:42

Eric, it is unlikely the Agalinis species you saw at Blaine was A. aspera. It is a species of dry, sandy prairie where Blaine SNA is a wetland. There are, however, two other Agalinis species known to be at Blaine SNA and it was more likely one of those.

Posted by: Mary Winnett - Whitewater State Park
on: 2019-08-24 12:21:16

Along the Chimney Rock hiking trail

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