Hoary Puccoon

Description:

This perennial plant is about ½-1½' tall, sending up one or more leafy stems from the same root system. These stems are erect to ascending; they are unbranched below, while branching occasionally above. Individual stems are light green, terete, and hairy; these hairs are white and spreading. Alternate leaves occur along the entire length of each stem, differing little in size. These leaves are 1–1¾" long and ¼–½" across with prominent central veins; they are oblong or elliptic in shape, while their margins are entire (toothless) and ciliate. The leaf bases are sessile, while the leaf tips are bluntly acute to rounded. The upper leaf surfaces are medium to dark green and sparsely to moderately covered with short appressed hairs. The lower leaf surfaces are light to medium green and sparsely to densely pubescent; hairs are usually more common along the lower side of their central veins. The white hairs and pubescence of this plant provide it with a slightly hoary appearance, hence the common name. The upper stems terminate in showy clusters of flowers. Initially these flowers are arranged along short curled racemes, but somewhat later these racemes become longer and more erect.