Lion's Ear

Description:

Lion's Ear is an erect, branched herb that can grow 8 ft tall. The stems are strongly 4-angled. The leaves are oppositely arranged along the stems and borne on stalks(petioles) 2-10 mm long. The flowers are borne in rounded, spiny clusters, 2-4 in across, that encircle the stems so that it looks like the stems are growing right through the middle of the clusters. As the stems elongate, new flower clusters continue to develop above the older ones. Orange, furry, tubular flowers that emerge out of the spiny heads look like a lion's ear, with some imagination. The flowers are about 1 in long and curve downward. Each individual fruit is a four-lobed capsule (i.e. schizocarp) that separates into four seeds when mature. These seeds are dark brown and somewhat egg-shaped.

Habitat:

Roadside