Beetleweed

Description:

It is an evergreen herbaceous perennial plant growing to 30–45 cm (rarely 75 cm) tall, with a rosette of leathery leaves which grow only at the base of the plant, and turn brown during winter. The leaves are a rounded cardioid (heart) shape, 2.5–7.5 cm diameter, rarely up to 15 cm, with a serrated margin with rounded "teeth". The flowers are produced in late spring to early summer, white in color and on a single spike-like raceme 15–25 cm long on top of a 20–50 cm tall stem. Each individual flower has five petals, and is up to 4 mm or 0.15 inches in diameter. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous seeds. This sepcimen is not yet blooming - it had a very unusual red bud that caught my attention

Habitat:

It is native to the southeastern United States from Massachusetts and New York south to northern Alabama, growing mainly in the Appalachian Mountains at altitudes of up to 1,500 m, where it grows in shaded places in forests.

Notes:

Spotted growing in stream bed on West Loop at Pine Mountain Recreation Area (Cartersville, GA) Supposedly used in native American medicine as well per this web page: http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl...