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  Ranunculaceae: Ceratocephala testiculata

  R. Neil Reese

  Ceratocephala testiculata is a small annual herb growing from a slender, often shallow, fibrous root system. The entire plant is usually less than 5–10 cm tall. Stems are typically branched at the base, sparsely hairy to nearly glabrous, and not woody. Leaves are all basal, forming a loose rosette, deeply divided into narrow linear to lobed segments. Basal leaves can reach up to about 6–12 cm long, though each leaflet segment is quite narrow, usually 1–3 mm wide. The leaves are covered with short, stiff hairs. Flowering occurs very early in the spring (often March–April). Flowers are solitary or in small clusters, each about 5–10 mm across. Each flower has 5 yellow, shiny, oblong petals, rounded to slightly obovate in shape, about 5–8 mm long and 3–5 mm wide, giving the flower a compact appearance and 5 shorter, green sepals, typically about 3–5 mm long and approximately 1.5–2 mm wide. The sepals are somewhat ovate to lanceolate in shape and slightly pointed at the tip. Flowers contain numerous stamens and several pistils. The fruit is a small, spiny bur composed of a cluster of nutlets—each nutlet is ovoid, 3–5 mm long, armed with hooked or curved projections. Bur buttercup matures and sets seed rapidly—often by late spring or early summer. Seeds are small, yellowish or brown, and equipped for dispersal by animals via the hooked spines. Bur buttercup is an introduced species and is now a widespread weed in South Dakota, most common in dry, disturbed grasslands, roadsides, overgrazed pastures, sandy sites, and compacted soils, especially in the western part of the state.

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  Ranunculaceae: Clematis hirsutissima

  R. Neil Reese

  Clematis hirsutissima is a perennial herbaceous plant (subshrub) in the Ranunculaceae family. It grows from a deep, woody, branching taproot and sometimes a short, thick rhizome, but does not spread aggressively by vegetative means. Stems are simple to sparsely branched, erect or arching, 15–40 cm tall, and densely covered with stiff, spreading hairs (hirsute). Leaves are opposite and compound or deeply divided, with 3 (up to 9) linear to narrowly lanceolate segments per leaf, with each leaflet being ovate to lanceolate, 3–7 cm long and 1–3 cm wide, with entire to slightly toothed margins and densely hairy surfaces. The basal leaves may be larger and more numerous in a clump. Flowering occurs from May to July. Each plant produces one to several solitary, nodding, urn-shaped flowers atop long, hairy stalks. The flowers are bisexual, with 4 blue to purple, sometimes pink-tinged, thick, leathery sepals (petaloid in appearance), with four thick, petal-like sepals (clematis flowers do not have true petals) that are lavender to pale blue or purple with darker veins and covered with fine hairs on both surfaces. The sepals are broadly ovate to lanceolate, measuring approximately 2.5–4 cm long and 1–2 cm wide, sometimes slightly reflexed at the tips. Flowers contain numerous stamens (yellowish filaments with white anthers) and many separate pistils. The fruit is a cluster of numerous achenes, each bearing a long, plumose, feathery tail (up to 3 cm), initially silvery and maturing to tan, aiding in wind dispersal. Seeds ripen from midsummer to early fall. Sugarbowl is native to South Dakota, especially common in western parts of the state—the Black Hills, Pine Ridge, and rocky uplands. It occurs in dry hillsides, open pine woodlands, prairie bluffs, and rocky outcrops.

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  Ranunculaceae: Clematis ligusticifolia

  R. Neil Reese

  Clematis ligusticifolia is a perennial, somewhat woody vine with smooth to hairy stems that grow several meters in length. The opposite, compound pinnate leaves are petiolate, with 3-7 leaflets that are coarsely toothed, ovate, and 2–6 cm long. The inflorescence consists of many-flowered, axillary panicles, with 4 white, petal-like sepals, 5-13 mm long, lacking petals. The plants are dioecious, with the male (staminate) flowers having numerous stamens, but lacking pistils. The female plants (pistilate) flowers have similar sepals, numerous, full size sterile stamens and multiple pistils. The fruit are hairy achenes, 2-4.5 mm long with plumose styles up to 6 cm long. Western virgin’s bower blooms in July and August and can be found climbing of trees, shrubs and rocks in western South Dakota.

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  Ranunculaceae: Delphinium bicolor

  R. Neil Reese

  Delphinium bicolor is a perennial herb typically growing from a fleshy, branching rootstock, stems are mostly smooth, 30 to 90 centimeters tall, erect and branched. Leaves are alternate, 4 to 12 cm long, palmately divided with 3 to 5 deeply cleft lobes. Each leaflet is ovate to lanceolate, typically 3–7 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, with coarsely toothed margins, a smooth texture, and a petiole 3 to 7 cm long. Flowering occurs from May to July, producing tall racemes of striking bicolored flowers, usually deep blue to violet with white centers. Flowers have five sepals; the posterior sepal is enlarged, forming a prominent backward-pointing spur about 1–1.5 cm long and 3–4 mm wide at the base, the lateral sepals are smaller and differently shaped. The petals number five, with two often highly modified. The upper two petals are typically white or pale, while the lower three are blue or violet, roughly 8 to 12 millimeters long and 4 to 6 millimeters wide. There are numerous stamens arranged around the carpels, inserted at the base of the petals, each filament is slender and about 5 to 8 millimeters long. The pistil consists of multiple carpels, each with a distinct style ending in a small, rounded stigma. The fruit is a cluster of dry follicles (several follicles per flower), each follicle is about 10 to 20 millimeters long, containing several small seeds that mature from late summer through early fall. Two-color larkspur is native to South Dakota, commonly found in open forests, grasslands, and rocky slopes, mainly in western and central regions in moist meadows, open coniferous forests, and montane slopes.

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  Ranunculaceae : Delphinium carolinianum ssp. virescens

  R. Neil Reese

  Delphinium carolinianum ssp. virescens is a perennial herb growing from a fibrous to tuberous root system, with sturdy erect, occasionally branched stems, 25-120 cm tall, usually with simple and glandular hairs throughout. There are both basal and alternate cauline leaves, palmately compound, 7-8 cm long, deeply divided into 5 or more primary sections, each with several linear lobes. The basal leaves have long petioles and are usually gone by flowering, and the cauline leave are smaller with shorter petioles. The inflorescence is a spike-like raceme with 5- 30 zygomorphic flowers. There are 5 white sepals, the uppermost having a spur, 11-20 mm long and the lowest pair 7-16 mm long. the 4 petals are white, the upper pair spurred and the lower pair, cleft, bearded, 4-8 mm long and 3-6 mm wide. There are numerous stamens and 3 carpels. The fruit are 3 divergent follicles about 20 mm long. Prairie larkspur blooms in May and June on prairies and pastures throughout South Dakota.

  Synonym: Delphinium virescens

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  Ranunculaceae: Delphinium nuttallianum

  R. Neil Reese

  Delphinium nuttallianum is a perennial herb growing 20 to 70 centimeters tall with erect, slender stems. The stems are mostly glabrous or sparsely covered with fine hairs. Leaves are primarily basal, typically 3 to 8 cm long with petioles from 2 to 6 cm in length. They are deeply palmately divided into 3–7 narrow, lanceolate lobes, each about 1–4 cm long, with serrated margins; cauline leaves are fewer, smaller, and simpler. Flowering occurs from May to July. Flowers grow in slender racemes with numerous blue to pale violet, zygomorphic blossoms, often with a slate-gray tint. Each flower has five sepals (one forming a backward-spurred projection 1–2 cm long), four petals (two modified as nectar spurs), numerous stamens, and a single pistil. two upper petals often pale or white and the lower petals that are blue, each petal approximately 7 to 12 millimeters long and 4 to 6 millimeters wide, often bearded. Stamens are numerous, arranged in a ring around the carpels, with filaments about 4 to 6 millimeters long. The pistil consists of several free carpels (apocarpous), each with a slender style ending in a small, rounded stigma. The fruit is a cluster of several dry follicles, each follicle about 10 to 18 millimeters long, containing small seeds. Fruits mature from late summer to early fall. Nuttall’s larkspur is native to South Dakota, commonly found in dry meadows, open woodlands, rocky slopes, and foothills, especially in the western Black Hills and adjacent upland regions.

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  Ranunculaceae: Pulsatilla patens ssp. multifidi

  R Neil Reese

  Pulsatilla patens is a perennial herb, 5-45 cm tall growing from a stout caudex. One to several flower-bearing stems appear early in the spring as the snow melts. A few to several basal leaves emerge after the flowers bloom. The basal leaves have 5-7 lobes, each dissected into many linear to lanceolate segments. There is a whorl of 3 sessile leaves, just below 2-5 cm long, the flower, palmately compound and divided into several narrow segments like the basal leaves. The leaves and stems are densely covered in long silky hairs. A solitary flower, 4-8 cm across, tops a densely hairy stalk, having 5 to 7 blue-violet to white petal-like sepals. The stamens are numerous and yellow in color that surround a light green columnar center. The sepals are pointed at the tip and lined with numerous parallel veins. The fruiting head is 3-6 cm long by 4-8 cm wide. The achenes are 3-6 mm long, spindle-shaped, brown, covered in long white hairs, with the styles becoming pinkish purple feather-like plumes up to 2-3.5 cm long. The plume facilitates dispersal by wind. Pasqueflower blooms from April into June on open prairies throughout South Dakota.

  Synonym: Anemone patens

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  Ranunculaceae: Ranunculus acris

  R. Neil Reese

  Ranunculus acris is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 30 to 90 cm tall from a fibrous root system. The stems are erect, branching near the top, and covered with fine hairs. Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, with deeply lobed leaflets. The basal leaves are long-petioled (2 to 8 cm long) with three to five lobes, while upper leaves are smaller and sessile with narrower lobes. The upper leaf surface is medium green and slightly hairy, while the lower surface is paler with fine hairs. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of bright yellow flowers, about 2–3 cm in diameter, blooming from late spring to mid-summer (May to July). Each flower has five to seven glossy, bright yellow petals about 10 to 20 mm long and 7 to 15 mm wide. The calyx consists of five green, lanceolate sepals about 5 to 7 mm long and spreading backward. Numerous stamens (20–40) and pistils (20-60) are densely packed in the flower center. The style is slender with a rounded stigma at its tip. Fruits are small achenes, 2 to 3 mm long, flattened and slightly curved, often with a short beak at the tip, and clustered in a dense head, maturing from summer to early fall (July-August). Native to Europe and Asia, meadow buttercup has been introduced and naturalized in parts of South Dakota, where they grow in meadows, pastures, and disturbed sites.

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  Ranunculaceae: Ranunculus hispidus

  R. Neil Reese

  Ranunculus hispidus is a perennial herbaceous plant with erect, branched stems growing 20 to 60 cm tall from a fibrous root system. Leaves are alternate and palmately lobed with three to five deeply cut lobes; basal leaves have long petioles 5 to 12 cm long, with leaf blades 4 to 10 cm wide, lobes ovate to lanceolate with pointed tips. Upper leaves are smaller, 2 to 6 cm wide, and may be sessile or have short petioles. The leaf surfaces and stems are densely covered with stiff hairs. Flowers are bright yellow, with five to seven glossy petals that are broadly ovate, 10 to 15 mm long and 7 to 12 mm wide. The calyx consists of five lanceolate sepals, 4 to 6 mm long and 2 to 3 mm wide, often hairy on the back and sides. Each flower contains numerous stamens, typically 20 to 40, with filaments about 2 to 3 mm long and yellow anthers approximately 1.5 to 2 mm long. The flowers also have 20 to 40 pistils, each 2 to 3 mm long, slender and slightly curved, tapering to a pointed tip. Fruits mature from June through July as clusters of small, flattened achenes about 2 to 3 mm long, oblong to slightly curved in shape, and turn from green to light brown or tan when mature. In South Dakota, hispid buttercup is native and is found across a range of habitats including woodlands, open fields, and disturbed sites, preferring moist to well-drained soils throughout the state.

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  Ranunculaceae: Ranunculus inamoenus

  R. Neil Reese

  Ranunculus inamoenus is a perennial herbaceous plant typically growing 15 to 50 cm tall from a fibrous root system. The erect, slender stems are often sparsely hairy or nearly glabrous. Basal leaves have long petioles 4 to 10 cm long, with leaf blades 3 to 8 cm long and 3 to 8 cm wide. Cauline leaves are alternate and palmately lobed with three to five deeply cut lobes, ovate to narrowly lanceolate with pointed tips. Upper leaves are smaller, 1.5 to 5 cm long and wide, and may be sessile or have short petioles. Leaf and stem surfaces are generally smooth or with sparse hairs. Flowers are pale yellow, with five to seven petals that are broadly ovate to obovate, 8 to 14 mm long and 5 to 10 mm wide. The calyx consists of five lanceolate to ovate sepals, 3 to 5 mm long and 1.5 to 3 mm wide, typically glabrous or slightly hairy. Each flower contains numerous stamens (15 to 30), with filaments about 1.5 to 2.5 mm long and yellow anthers approximately 1 to 1.5 mm long. The flowers have 15 to 30 pistils, each 1.5 to 2.5 mm long, slender and slightly curved, tapering to a pointed tip. Fruits mature from June through July as clusters of small, flattened achenes about 2 to 2.5 mm long, oblong to slightly curved, turning from green to light brown or tan when mature. In South Dakota, graceful buttercup is native and found mainly in moist to wet habitats such as wet meadows, streambanks, and low-lying areas, scattered throughout suitable locations in the western part of the state.

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  Ranunculaceae: Thalictrum dasycarpum

  R. Neil Reese

  Thalictrum dasycarpum is a perennial, herbaceous plant with a fibrous root system and short, thick rhizomes, forming loose clumps. Mature plants typically reach 60–200 cm in height. Stems are erect, hollow, round, often branching above, and smooth or sometimes finely grooved, usually glabrous but occasionally sparsely hairy near the nodes. Leaves are alternate, compound, and 2- to 3-ternate (divided two or three times), with the largest lower leaves up to 40 cm long and 30 cm wide, each leaflet ovate to rhombic, 2–6 cm long and 1–4 cm wide, with 3-lobed or coarsely toothed margins; upper surfaces are medium green and smooth, lower surfaces are paler and sometimes slightly hairy along the veins. Leaflets are attached by slender petiolules 0.5–2 cm long; petioles are present, 4–15 cm long, especially on basal and lower leaves. Flowering occurs from May to July, with inflorescences forming large, loose, pyramidal panicles up to 30 cm long, composed of numerous small, apetalous flowers. Each flower has four to six greenish-white sepals, 3–5 mm long and 1–2 mm wide, that are oblong, free, and soon deciduous. True petals are absent. Stamens are numerous (20–50 per flower), with long, slender white to purple filaments and yellow anthers 2–3 mm long, extending well beyond the sepals and giving the flowers a feathery appearance; pistils are also numerous (10–20 per flower), each with a slender style 3–4 mm long and a stigma that is slightly expanded and papillose. The fruit is a small, dry, ovoid to ellipsoid achene, 3–4 mm long, covered with dense, soft hairs (hence the species name, “dasycarpum” meaning “hairy fruit”), maturing from June to August. Purple meadow-rue is native to South Dakota and is common throughout the state in moist prairies, open woodlands, stream banks, wet meadows, and marshy lowlands, especially in rich, moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade.

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  Rosaceae: Agrimonia striata

  R. Neil Reese

  Agrimonia striata is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Rosaceae family, commonly known as roadside agrimony. It has a fibrous root system and does not reproduce asexually via stolons or rhizomes. The stems are upright, usually simple or occasionally sparingly branched, and range from 30 to 120 cm in height, with a covering of fine, soft hairs that give the young growth a slightly fuzzy texture. Leaves are alternate and pinnately compound, with 3–7 pairs of oblong-lanceolate, coarsely toothed leaflets, usually 3 to 8 centimeters long and 1 to 3 centimeters wide, with serrate margins and petioles approximately 1 to 3 centimeters long. The terminal leaflet being the largest; both basal and cauline leaves are present, with basal leaves forming a rosette and cauline leaves distributed along the stem. Inflorescences are slender, terminal racemes appearing from June to September. Each flower has five yellow petals about 2.5 to 4 millimeters long and 1.5 to 3 millimeters wide, and five green sepals with slender tips roughly 2 to 3 millimeters long. There are numerous stamens (20 or more) arranged around a superior ovary; filaments are slender and about 2 to 4 millimeters long with yellow anthers. The pistil consists of a single ovary , with 2–5 locules, a slender style terminating in a capitate stigma. Fruits mature into small, dry achenes covered with hooked bristles that aid in animal dispersal, turning brown at maturity in late summer or early fall and typically containing a single small, hard, dark brown seed. Roadside agrimony is native to South Dakota, found in moist meadows, woodland edges, thickets, and along riverbanks, and is distributed statewide, with higher abundance in the eastern regions and river corridors.

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  Rosaceae: Argentina anserina

  R. Neil Reese

  Argentina anserina is a perennial herb with a spreading, mat-forming habit, growing from a fibrous root system with thickened edible storage roots and reproducing vigorously by long, red, above-ground stolons that root at the nodes. Its stems are prostrate and simple, with flowering scapes rising 10–30 cm above the basal rosette. The plant is covered in fine, silky, silvery hairs, especially on the underside of the leaves. Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound with 7 to 15 oblong to lanceolate leaflets covered with dense, silvery hairs on the underside, giving a characteristic silvery appearance. Leaflets are deeply toothed, measure about 1 to 4 centimeters long and 0.5 to 1.5 centimeters wide, with petioles 3 to 7 centimeters long. Flowering occurs from late spring through summer, with solitary, bright yellow, saucer-shaped flowers (1.5–2.5 cm across) borne singly on leafless stalks. Each flower has five bright yellow petals approximately 8 to 15 millimeters long and 5 to 10 millimeters wide, and five green sepals about 5 to 8 millimeters long with pointed tips. Numerous stamens (around 20 to 30) encircle a superior ovary of multiple carpels fused at the base. The pistil consists of several distinct styles, each terminating in a stigma. Fruits develop as small, dry achenes aggregated on a conical receptacle, maturing in late summer. Silverweed is native to South Dakota, found statewide in moist meadows, streambanks, marshes, ditches, and sometimes sandy or disturbed soils, especially in moist lowland habitats.

  Synonym: Potentilla anserina

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  Rosaceae : Fragaria virginiana

  R. Neil Reese

  Fragaria virginica is a stoloniferous, rosette-forming herb growing from a thick rhizome. The stolons produce new shoots where the touch the ground. The leaves are primarily basal, trifoliate, with long smooth to hairy petioles. The leaflets have short stalks, are 2.5-4 cm long, 18-25 mm wide, elliptic to obovate, with blunt teeth. The terminal tooth is generally smaller than the 2 flanking teeth. The inflorescence consist of 1-3 clusters of flowers (cymes) on top of hairy peduncles that are generally shorter than the leaves. The flowers are perfect, or appear so, with a hypanthium (floral cup) subtended bu 5 bracts. The 5 sepals are green, 4-10 mm long, the 5 white petals 6-14 mm long, with 20-40 stamens in 3 whorls and with many simple pistils on a hemispheric receptacle that enlarges into the fruit. The achenes are embedded in pits in the receptacle. Wild strawberries bloom from March into June on prairies, open woodlands and along streams and roadsides throughout South Dakota.

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  Rosaceae : Geum triflorum

  R. Neil Reese

  Geum triflorum is perennial herb growing from thick rhizomes, often forming large clumps, with flowering stems 20-40 cm tall. The stems are purplish in color, softly hairy, with a pair of opposite, smaller, finely dissected leaves about half way up. The basal leaves have blades 5-20 cm long, unequally pinnately divided into 7-19 lobes or pinnae up to 5 cm long, generally larger toward the tip. The inflorescences are cymes, with peduncles up to 10 cm long, with 3-4 nodding flowers. Each flower has a hemispherical hypanthium 4-5 mm long, with 5 purple sepals 8-12 mm long and simple to trifid bracts between them. There are 5 yellow to pink to purple rounded petals enclosed by, to exerted from the sepals and bracts. The stamens and pistils are numerous. The fruit are achenes ~ 3 mm long with purplish, plumose styles 2.5-5 cm long. Prairie smoke blooms from April into June on prairies and in open woodlands along the eastern and western borders of South Dakota.

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  Rosaceae: Potentilla arguta

  R. Neil Reese

  Potentilla arguta is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 30 to 90 cm tall from a fibrous root system. Stems are erect, slender, and often smooth or slightly hairy. The medium green leaves are compound, usually with five to seven leaflets arranged palmately. Leaflets are ovate to lanceolate, 2 to 6 cm long and 1 to 3 cm wide, with finely serrated margins and pointed tips. The texture is generally smooth to slightly hairy. Flowers are 1.5 to 3 cm wide and bloom June through August. Each flower has a calyx of five lanceolate sepals, 5 to 8 mm long and 2 to 3 mm wide, often with fine hairs on the edges and pointed tips that curve slightly outward; five bright yellow, broadly ovate to rounded petals, 8 to 15 mm long and 6 to 12 mm wide, with slightly notched tips. Numerous stamens surround the pistils; each stamen is slender, 4 to 6 mm long, with bright yellow anthers. The pistils are clustered centrally, each about 3 to 5 mm long, with slender styles topped by small, rounded stigmas. After fertilization, the pistils develop into a dense cluster of small achenes, each 2 to 3 mm long. Tall cinquefoil commonly grows in open woods, prairies, and along stream banks, favoring well-drained soils and sunny to partly shaded locations, mainly in the eastern and central parts of in South Dakota.

  Synonym: Drymocallis arguta

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  Rosaceae: Potentilla gracilis

  R. Neil Reese

  Potentilla gracilis is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 20 to 80 cm tall from a fibrous root system with slender, erect, and often slightly hairy, sometimes branched stems. The compound leaves typically have three to five slender, lanceolate to ovate leaflets, each 1.5 to 5 cm long and 0.5 to 2 cm wide, with finely serrated margins and petioles 1–5 cm long. The upper leaflet surface is medium to dark green with a smooth to slightly hairy texture, giving it a somewhat glossy appearance. The lower surface is lighter green, often paler or grayish-green, and usually has a more noticeable covering of fine hairs, giving it a soft, slightly fuzzy texture. The inflorescence is a loose cluster (cyme) of several bright yellow flowers blooming from June through August. The calyx consists of five lanceolate sepals, 4 to 7 mm long and 1.5 to 3 mm wide, often hairy along the edges with pointed tips that curve slightly outward, enclosing the flower before it opens. The flowers have five broadly ovate petals about 7 to 14 mm long and 5 to 10 mm wide. Numerous stamens with slender filaments approximately 3 to 5 mm long and bright yellow anthers surround the 20 to 40 pistils, which are clustered centrally, each 3 to 4 mm long with slender styles and small rounded stigmas. Fruit matures from August through September as an aggregate of small achenes, 2 to 3 mm long, tightly clustered after fertilization. Native to South Dakota, slender cinquefoil is commonly found in moist meadows, open woods, and along stream banks, especially in the central and western parts of the state.

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  Rosaceae: Potentilla hippiana

  R. Neil Reese

  Potentilla hippiana is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 15 to 60 cm tall growing from a thick, woody rootstock. Its slender, erect stems are often hairy. The alternate, compound leaves typically have five to seven ovate to lanceolate leaflets, each 1.5 to 4 cm long and 0.5 to 2 cm wide, with finely serrated margins and a petiole 2 to 6 cm long. The upper leaf surface is medium green, mostly smooth to slightly hairy, while the lower surface is paler and covered with fine hairs, giving it a soft texture. The inflorescence is a loose cyme of bright yellow flowers that bloom from June through August. The calyx consists of five lanceolate sepals, 4 to 7 mm long and 1.5 to 3 mm wide, often hairy along the edges with pointed tips that curve slightly outward, enclosing the flower before it opens. Each flower has five broadly ovate petals, about 8 to 15 mm long and 5 to 12 mm wide. Numerous stamens with slender filaments, 3 to 5 mm long, and bright yellow anthers surround the pistils, which number around 20 to 40 per flower, each 3 to 4 mm long with slender styles and small rounded stigmas. Fruit matures from August through September as an aggregate of small achenes, 2 to 3 mm long, tightly clustered after fertilization. Native to South Dakota, Hipp's cinquefoil is commonly found in dry prairies, open rocky slopes, and well-drained soils, especially in the western and central parts of the state.

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  Rosaceae: Potentilla pulcherrima

  R. Neil Reese

  Potentilla pulcherrima is a perennial, herbaceous forb that arises from a thick, woody caudex or short branched rhizomes anchored by a sturdy taproot. The plant reaches a mature height of 20 to 76 cm and with erect to ascending, often reclining stems covered in dense, soft, spreading or appressed white hairs. The leaves display alternate and predominantly basal insertion; they are palmately or sometimes subpalmate-pinnately compound with 5 to 7 leaflets. Each leaflet is oblong to oblanceolate, 2 to 7 cm long, and explicitly characterized by coarsely toothed margins. The leaflets are a contrasting deep glabrous green on the upper surface and a starkly distinct, densely tomentose white or silvery-hairy color on the lower surface. Basal leaves possess long petioles measuring 5 to 15 cm in length, whereas the reduced upper stem leaves are nearly sessile; conspicuous, leaf-like, lanceolate stipules are consistently present at the base of the petioles. Flowering occurs from June through August. The inflorescence is a loose, terminal, cyme-like cluster holding several radially symmetrical flowers that span roughly 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter. The flowers are subtended by a calyx of 5 free sepals that are lanceolate, 4 to 7 mm long, green with white pubescence, and alternate with 5 slightly narrower bractlets . The corolla consists of 5 free petals that are obovate, slightly notched at the apex, bright yellow in color, and measures 6 to 10 mm long, comfortably exceeding the sepals. Inside the petals are 15 to 20 stamens that are short, yellow, and tightly arranged around the base of the receptacle. The pistils are numerous (often 20 to 40), small, separate, and contain a smooth ovary with a slender, filiform style and simple stigma attached near the middle of the ovary wall. The fruit is a cluster of smooth, dry, teardrop-shaped achenes that measure about 1.5 mm long, turning tan to dark brown at maturity between August and September. The beautiful cinquefoil is native to South Dakota, where it is found primarily in the western portion of the state within the Black Hills and high plains, thriving in moist mountain meadows, open forest clearings, and grassy montane valleys.

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  Rosaceae: Potentilla supina ssp. paradoxa

  R. Neil Reese

  Potentilla supina is an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous forb that develops from a slender taproot with sparse lateral roots. The plant typically reaches a height of 10 to 50 cm, producing multiple spreading, prostrate, reclining, or ascending stems from the base that are dichotomously branched and moderately to densely covered in fine, spreading hairs. Leaf insertion is alternate, featuring odd-pinnately compound leaves. The green leaves are composed of 2 to 5 pairs of leaflets; basal leaves are situated on long petioles up to 6 cm long, while cauline leaves feature highly reduced petioles or are nearly sessile. Individual leaflets are elliptic, oblong, or obovate, measuring 1 to 3 cm long and 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide, with deeply incised-serrate or pinnatifid margins. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are light to medium green and sparsely to moderately pubescent with short hairs, lacking any dense white-tomentose coating on the lower side. Membranous, ovate to lanceolate stipules are present at the base of the petioles, featuring entire to slightly dentate margins. Flowering occurs from May through September. The inflorescence is a much-branched, leafy, terminal cyme where small, solitary flowers arise from the forks of the branching stems on long, hairy peduncles. The calyx consists of 5 free, green, ovate-lanceolate sepals measuring 3 to 5 mm long and 1.5 to 2.5 mm wide, alternating with 5 prominent bractlets (epicalyx segments) that are similar in shape and often slightly longer or equal to the sepals. There are 5 free, obovate, yellow petals that measure approximately 2.5 to 4 mm long, typically shorter than or equal to the surrounding sepals. Within the corolla reside 10 to 20 small stamens featuring short, yellow filaments and yellow anthers. The pistil collection is numerous and tightly clustered on a central receptacle, featuring tiny ovaries, a smooth, terminal style that equals the ovary in length, and a simple, slightly widened stigma. The fruit structure consists of a dense head of small, asymmetrical, smooth or slightly ridged achenes measuring roughly 1 mm in length. These achenes transition from green to a yellowish-brown or tan color at maturity, which occurs from July through October, and are uniquely distinguished by a conspicuous, corky, swollen appendage on the inner margin. Bushy cinquefoil is native to South Dakota, where it is broadly distributed across the state, heavily concentrated along the sandy shoals, reservoirs, and floodplains of the Missouri River, as well as on wet sandy shores, sandbars, and mudflats.

  Synonym: Potentilla paradoxa

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  Rubiaceae: Galium aparine

  R. Neil Reese

  Galium aparine is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant growing from a fibrous root system and characterized by sprawling, weakly erect, square stems that can reach 30–100 cm in length. The stems and leaves are covered in tiny, hooked hairs, giving the plant a sticky or velcro-like feel, which helps it cling to other plants and surfaces for support. Leaves are arranged in whorls of six to eight, linear to lanceolate, 1–3 cm long and 2–5 mm wide, with rough margins. Flowering occurs from late spring through summer (May–August). Flowers are small and contain four sepals and petals. The sepals are green, small, triangular to lanceolate in shape, about 0.5 to 1 millimeter long. They form a tiny calyx cup at the base of the flower and often have fine hairs on their edges. The petals are white to greenish-white, and arranged like narrow, pointed stars. Each petal is about 1.5 to 3 millimeters long and about 2–3 mm wide, with a slightly notched or toothed tip, contributing to the star-like appearance of the flower. Flowers are bisexual, with four stamens and a pistil. Fruits are small schizocarps that separate into two mericarps covered with hooked hairs that stick to animals, clothing, and fur, aiding in seed dispersal. Cleavers are widespread in South Dakota in disturbed soils, woods, gardens, and along fences and roadsides.

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  Rubiaceae : Galium boreale

  R. Neil Reese

  Galium boreale is a perennial herb growing from a creeping rhizome with numerous, erect, often branched stems, 20-70 cm tall, that have clusters of hairs below the nodes. The sessile, simple, linear to lanceolate leaves are in whorls of 4, 3-4 cm long, often with fascicles of smaller leaves in their axils. The inflorescence consists of showy, terminal cymose panicles. The flowers have a small tubular calyx, the corolla is wheel-like, 3.5-7 mm wide, with 4 white to occasionally yellowish, reflexed lobes. There are 4 stamens and a 2-carpled pistil with 2 styles. The fruit is dry, globose, 2 mm long schizocarp the spits into 2 seed-like parts. Northern bedstraw blooms from June into September in prairies, woodlands, hillsides and roadways, often forming large colonies, in the Black Hills, the Coteau des Prairies and norther counties of South Dakota.

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  Saxifragaceae : Heuchera richardsonii

  R. Neil Reese

  Heuchera richardsonii is a perennial herb from a stout, branched caudex with 1 or a few softly hairy stems, 15-70 cm tall. The leaves are basal with long petioles, the blades are heart to kidney shaped, 3-8 cm wide with 5-7 rounded lobes, smooth and green on top and lighter with hairs on the lower surface. The inflorescence is a raceme to narrow panicle, with glandular hairs, 5-20 cm long, the flowers in clusters of 2-6. The flowers have a green, well-developed, irregular, tubular hypanthium with 5 rounded lobes and short glandular hairs on the outer surface. The 5 stamens have orange anthers and are exerted from the floral tube. The 2 upper lobes of the tube are longest and tend to drape over the stamens. Although the flower color is usually green, it can becomes yellowish brown or reddish in sunnier locations. The 2-carpeled, partially inferior pistil is tapered into 2 styles up to 2.5 mm long. Prairie alumroot blooms in June and July in open woodlands and prairies in counties scattered throughout South Dakota.

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  Saxifragaceae: Lithophragma glabrum

  R. Neil Reese

  Lithophragma glabrum is a perennial, herbaceous wildflower growing from a slender rhizome. Stems are slender, erect or ascending, and generally 15–50 cm tall. Leaves are alternate or basal, deeply lobed into 3 to 7 narrow segments, each leaflet about 1–3 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide, with entire margins. The leaves are petiolate, with delicate stalks attaching them to the stem. Flowering occurs in late spring to early summer (May–July). Flowers have five separate, ovate to lanceolate sepals approximately 5 to 10 mm long and 1.5 to 3 mm wide, which are smooth and glabrous. The five petals are also separate, about 10 to 20 mm long and 3 to 7 mm wide, deeply lobed or divided into narrow linear segments, and white to pale pink in color. Flowers have ten stamens and a superior ovary with a style and stigma. The fruit is a capsule that splits open to release numerous tiny seeds. In South Dakota, Smooth woodland star is native and found in dry open woods, rocky slopes, and foothills, particularly in the Black Hills region.

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  Scrophulariaceae: Castilleja angustifolia var. dubia

  R. Neil Reese

  Castilleja angustifolia var. dubia is a perennial herb growing from a woody, branching taproot and may form small clumps. Stems are erect, simple or occasionally branched near the base, typically 10–40 cm tall, and covered with short, soft, grayish or white hairs (pubescent). Leaves are alternate, narrow, linear to lanceolate, 2–6 cm long and 1–5 mm wide, entire or with a few shallow lobes, and are also softly hairy. Only cauline leaves are present; there is no basal rosette. Flowering occurs from late spring to early summer (May–July). Inflorescences are terminal, forming dense, spike-like clusters of brightly colored bracts and small, tubular flowers. Bracts are bright red to orange-red (sometimes yellow), 1–2.5 cm long, and often deeply divided at the tip. The actual flowers are inconspicuous, tubular, greenish to yellowish, 2-lipped, and about 1.5–2.5 cm long, partly hidden among the bracts. Each flower has a calyx with four lobes, a tubular corolla, four stamens, and a single style. The fruit is a small, oval capsule (8–12 mm) containing numerous tiny, brown, dust-like seeds, maturing in midsummer. Narrowleaf Indian paintbrush is native to South Dakota, particularly in dry prairies, sagebrush flats, rocky hillsides, and open pine woodlands. It is most commonly found in the western part of the state, including the Black Hills and Badlands.

  Synonym: Castilleja chromosa