Agalinis auriculata (Michx.) S.F. Blake

Auriculate False Foxglove

Agalinis_auriculata_plant.jpg
STATS

Native
CC = 10
CW = 5
MOC = 17

© SRTurner

Family - Orobanchaceae

Habit - Hemiparasitic annual forb, slender to moderately stout, dull green to dark green, sometimes purplish-tinged.

Stem - Weakly to strongly ascending, to 60 cm, unbranched or with few to several, spreading to loosely ascending branches, mostly above the midpoint, 4-angled, moderately to densely roughened with minute, downward-angled hairs, also with sparse to moderate, longer, softer, spreading hairs.

Agalinis_auriculata_stem.jpg Stem and node.

© SRTurner

Leaves - Primary leaves sometimes with poorly developed axillary fascicles of leaves, these much shorter than the primary leaves. Leaf blades loosely ascending to spreading, 15-60 mm long, 5-25 mm wide, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, those of the upper leaves with 1 or 2, narrowly oblong basal lobes, the surfaces and margins moderately to densely pubescent (roughened) with short, stiff hairs.

Agalinis_auriculata_leaves.jpg Stem and leaves.

© SRTurner

Agalinis_auriculata_leaves2.jpg Decussate leaf arrangement.

© SRTurner

Agalinis_auriculata_leaf1.jpg Leaf adaxial.

© SRTurner

Agalinis_auriculata_leaf2.jpg Leaf abaxial.

© SRTurner

Inflorescences - Interrupted spikelike racemes with leaflike bracts, often appearing as solitary flowers (2 per node) in the axils of foliage leaves, the flower stalks 0.5-1.5 mm long (much shorter than the calyces), not noticeably elongating at fruiting, more or less straight and spreading to loosely ascending.

Agalinis_auriculata_buds.jpg Budding inflorescence.

© SRTurner

Flowers - Calyces 10-18 mm long, bell-shaped, somewhat longer than wide at flowering, the lobes 6-12 mm long, relatively strongly unequal, slightly longer than the tube, herbaceous and lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, densely short-hairy on the surfaces and margins, the sinuses between the lobes at flowering narrowly V-shaped. Corollas 20-28 mm long, pink to pinkish purple, the tube densely and finely hairy externally, the throat pale to white with dark purple to brown spots, hairy, the lobes hairy on the outer surface and margins, the upper 2 lobes spreading to somewhat bent backward. Anthers 1.9-2.5 mm long.

Agalinis_auriculata_calyx.jpg Calyx.

© SRTurner

Agalinis_auriculata_flowers1.jpg Flowers.

© SRTurner

Agalinis_auriculata_flower.jpg Flower.

© SRTurner

Agalinis_auriculata_corolla.jpg Throat of corolla.

© SRTurner

Fruits - Capsules 9-15 mm long, broadly ovoid to ovoid. Seeds 1.2-1.6 mm long, light brown.

Flowering - August - September.

Habitat - Upland prairies, savannas, glades, upland forest margins, old fields, pastures, roadsides, and open disturbed areas.

Origin - Native to the U.S.

Lookalikes - Broadly, other species of Agalinis.

Other info. - This uncommon species of Agalinis is found in scattered locations across most of Missouri, and also much of the Midwest. It appears to be fairly uncommon throughout its entire range. Apparently the plant benefits from disturbance, appearing after fire or machinery temporarily disrupts the local vegetation, and disappearing as more competitive species become dominant. The species is recognized as an Agalinis by its characteristically shaped pink flowers. This particular species is easily differentiated from all of its Missouri siblings by its relatively wide leaves - all other Missouri species of Agalinis have very narrow leaves. As is common in this group, the floral corollas are easily dislodged by careless handling of the plant.

Photographs taken at Taberville Prairie, St. Clair County, MO, 9-4-2024 (SRTurner).