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  Brassicaceae : Hesperis matronalis

  R. Neil Reese

  Hesperis matronalis is a showy, biennial or short-lived perennial, with upright, branched stems, growing from 50-100 cm in height and having rough spreading hairs. The leaves are simple, alternate, deltoid-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, sessile or with a short petiole, blades growing up to 12 cm long and 3.5 cm wide near the base of the plant and becoming smaller as they ascend the stem. The margins are sharply toothed, the upper leaf surface has simple hairs with branched hairs beneath. First year plants over-winter as an evergreen basal rosette. The inflorescence is a raceme of fragrant 4-merous flowers. The sepals are hairy, greenish, narrowly oblong, and form a slender tube. The petals are pink to bluish purple (occasionally white) 2-2.5 cm long, 2 short and 6 longer stamens and a cylindrical pistil. The fruit is a silique, 5-14 cm long containing many spindle shaped seeds, 3-4 mm long. Dame’s rocket blooms from May through August along roadsides, in thickets and open woods throughout South Dakota.

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  Brassicaceae : Lesquerella ludoviciana

  R. Neil Reese

  Lesquerella ludoviciana is a perennial herb with a few spreading to ascending, densely hairy stems, arising from a simple caudex and growing 15–35 cm in length. Basal leaves 2-6 cm long and 4-10 mm wide. The outer leaves oblanceolate and lying flat, the inner leaves erect, narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate with 4- to 7-rayed stellate hairs, the margins entire to shallowly toothed. The cauline leaves similar but reduced upward. Flowers are in elongating stalks in cluster at the top of the stem, petals, yellow, 6–10 mm long and 2-4 mm wide. Fruit are globose silicles, on pedicels growing 10–16 mm long, 3–4 mm in diameter, often flattened, with 2 to 6 seeds per locule. Bladderpod blooms from April to August on dry prairies, predominantly in western South Dakota.

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  Campanulaceae: Campanula petiolata

  R. Neil Reese

  Campanula petiolata is a perennial herb growing from a slender, fibrous root system and can form small colonies via short rhizomes, but is not aggressive in its spread. Stems are erect, simple or occasionally branched, typically ranging from 30–100 cm tall, and are smooth or sometimes minutely hairy, especially on the upper parts. Leaves are alternate; the basal leaves are ovate to heart-shaped, 2–8 cm long, with long petioles and coarsely toothed margins, while cauline leaves are smaller, more lanceolate or linear, and have shorter petioles or may be sessile. Flowering occurs from late spring through summer (June–August). Flowers are borne singly or in loose racemes at the top of the plant. Each flower is bisexual, with a bell-shaped (campanulate) corolla, blue to violet in color, 2–4 cm long, and divided into five spreading lobes, each lobe about 5 to 9 millimeters long. There are five narrow, green fused sepals forming a narrow cup, approximately 5 to 8 millimeters long, usually shorter than the corolla. The flower has five stamens with the anthers fused into a tube, and a single pistil with a three-lobed style and stigma. The fruit is a small, upright, cylindrical capsule (5–10 mm), turning brown at maturity in late summer or early fall, and containing many tiny, brown seeds (less than 1 mm). Tall bellflower is native to South Dakota, occurring in moist meadows, open woods, shaded riverbanks, and rocky slopes, and is found primarily in the Black Hills, Coteau des Prairies, and other cooler, moist upland areas, but is not widespread statewide.

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  Campanulaceae: Campanula rapunculoides

  R. Neil Reese

  Campanula rapunculoides is a perennial herb growing from a deep, fleshy, and often branched rhizomatous root system that facilitates aggressive asexual reproduction and spread. Stems are erect, simple, or occasionally branched, typically 30–100 cm tall, and are smooth or minutely hairy, especially near the top. Leaves are alternate, with basal leaves ovate to broadly heart-shaped, 5 to 12 centimeters long and 3 to 7 centimeters wide, coarsely toothed, on long petioles; cauline leaves are smaller, lanceolate to ovate, with shorter petioles or sessile, 2 to 6 centimeters long and 1 to 3 centimeters wide, with serrated to scalloped margins. Both basal and cauline leaves are present, with basal leaves quickly withering as the plant flowers. Flowering occurs from late spring through summer (June–August). Inflorescences are one-sided, slender, and terminal racemes or spikes, with numerous nodding, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is bisexual, with five narrow green sepals, fused sepals forming a green cup about 5 to 8 millimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide. The corolla is composed of five fused petals, violet to blue, each petal approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters long and about 6 to 10 millimeters wide, forming the bell-shaped flower with five distinct lobes. The flower has five stamens with fused anthers forming a tube, and a single pistil with a three-lobed style and stigma. The fruit is an upright, cylindrical capsule (6–10 mm) that turns brown at maturity and splits open at the side to release numerous tiny, brown seeds (less than 1 mm). Creeping bellflower is an introduced species in South Dakota, commonly found in gardens, lawns, roadsides, disturbed areas, woodland edges, and riparian sites, and is most abundant in urban and suburban settings, especially in the eastern part of the state.

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  Campanulaceae : Campanula rotundifolia

  R. Neil Reese

  Campanula rotundifolia is a perennial, somewhat delicate herb from slender caudex branches, often forming clumps. The stems are ascending to erect, simple or with short branches near the top, 15-70 cm in height and lacking hairs. The basal leaves have long petioles (1-7 cm long), the blades are 1-3 cm long and 0.5-2 cm wide, ovate to orbicular, the margins with small teeth, but are generally withered before flowering. The cauline leaves becoming linear and sessile above, 1–7 cm long and 1-6 mm wide. The Inflorescence is a terminal, few-flowered raceme with nodding flowers. The 5 sepals are narrowly lanceolate, 3–12 mm long, erect and the 5 blue petals are fused, 10–25 mm long, campanulate, with the 3-lobed style about as long as the corolla. The fruit is a top-shaped capsule, nodding, 3–10 mm long and 3-6 mm in diameter. The seeds are brown, shiny and ~1 mm long. Harebells bloom from June through August in dry woods, meadows and along streambanks in western South Dakota.

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  Campanulaceae: Campanulastrum americanum

  R. Neil Reese

  Campanulastrum americanum is a biennial or short-lived perennial herb. It grows from a slender, fibrous root system and does not spread vegetatively by rhizomes or stolons. In its first year, it forms a basal rosette of ovate to elliptical leaves (5 to 12 centimeters long and 3 to 8 centimeters wide), with long petioles (1 to 5 cm) and coarsely toothed margins. In its second year, a single, erect, and usually unbranched stem rises, ranging from 60–150 cm tall, hairless to sparsely hairy, and often tinged with purple near the base. Cauline leaves are alternate, Stem leaves are smaller, lanceolate to ovate, ranging from 2 to 7 centimeters long and 1 to 4 centimeters wide, sharply toothed, and gradually decreasing in size up the stem; petioles are shorter than on basal leaves or absent on upper leaves. Flowering occurs from June to September. The inflorescence is a loose, terminal raceme or panicle, with large, showy, star-shaped flowers. Flowers are bisexual, each with five narrow green five fused sepals forming a green calyx tube about 5 to 7 millimeters long and 2 to 4 millimeters wide. The blue to violet corolla is formed by five fused petals with a flared mouth and five lobes, each petal about 1.5 to 3 centimeters long and 6 to 12 millimeters wide, deeply divided into five spreading lobes. There are five stamens with fused anthers forming a tube, and a single pistil with a three-lobed style and stigma. The fruit is an upright, cylindrical to oblong capsule (7–12 mm), ripening in late summer to fall, containing many tiny, brown seeds (less than 1 mm). American bellflower is native to South Dakota, especially in moist woodlands, shaded streambanks, forest edges, and rich alluvial soils, and is most often found in the eastern and southeastern regions, particularly in wooded valleys and the Coteau des Prairies.

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  Cannabaceae : Humulus lupulus var. lupuloides

  R. Neil Reese

  Humulus lupulus is a perennial, dioecious vine with green, branched stems that grow to 10 m or more in length and 1-5 mm in diameter. The simple, opposite leaves have long petioles, from 2.5 to 12 cm in length. The blades are ovate, 5-15 cm long and 4-16 cm wide, unlobed or with 3-5 lobes, the lobes with sharply pointed tips. The margins are finely toothed, the upper leaf surface is mostly hairless, the lower surface having soft hairs along the veins and occasionally on the surface, along with the yellow glands that dot the lower surface. Male plants have panicles of flowers, 7-15 cm long and 1.5-5 cm wide, in branching clusters on short peduncles arising from upper leaf axils and at branch tips, each panicle with 20 to 100+ flowers. Each flower has a short pedicel, 5 yellow-green spreading sepals and 5 short stamens. Female plants have 10 to 50 pairs of flowers in 5-10 mm long catkin-like clusters at the tips of peduncles arising from leaf axils and branch tips. The sessile flowers are subtended by green to yellowish bracts, with 2 styles and no petals. The fruit are yellowish achenes that are surrounded by the enlarged bracts that create a cone-like structure 2-5 cm long and 2-3 cm in diameter. The green cone-like fruit ripen to straw-colored and eventually turn brown. Common hops bloom from July to September and are commonly found in moist thickets and deciduous woodlands along drainages in South Dakota.

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  Capparaceae: Cleome serrulata

  R Neil Reese

  Cleome serrulata is an erect, branched annual herb with smooth, waxy, unarmed stems, 20-150 cm tall. The alternate petiolate leaves are compound ternate, the 3 leaflets are entire, narrowly lanceolate, 2-6 cm long and 5-15 mm wide, the tips pointed. The leaves become simple as they approach the inflorescence. The flowers are in dense, many-flowered terminal racemes, subtended by narrow bracts, on pedicels up to 2 cm long. The raceme elongates as the fruit forms, with many flowers blooming in a rounded cluster at the top and fruit forming below. The 4 green to purple sepals are about 3-4 mm long, fused in the lower half, forming a bowl with 4 lobes. The 4 pink to purple (rarely white) petals are 8-12 mm long and constricted at the base (clawed). The 6 stamens are exerted 13-20 mm long. The fruit is an elongated cylindrical capsule, 2-8 cm long, 3-9 mm wide, slightly constricted between the seeds, with a narrow, elongated stalk, 11-23 mm long, and a pointed tip. Rocky Mountain bee plant blooms from June into August on prairies, in open woodlands and disturbed areas in all but the northeastern part of South Dakota.

  Synonym: Cleomella serrulata

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  Caprifoliaceae : Symphoricarpos occidentalis

  R. Neil Reese

  Symphoricarpos occidentalis is a woody perennial shrub with spreading, simple to branched stems, 30–100 cm growing from a creeping rhizome and forming large colonies. The younger branches are green to brown with a fine covering of hairs and the older branched have a thin gray bark that often splits, revealing a reddish-brown underlayer. The simple, opposite leaves are ovate, 2-6 cm long and 1-3.5 cm wide, the upper surface is hairless, dark green to blue green, the lower surface paler and usually with short, stiff hairs especially along the veins. The petioles are 2-7 mm long and the leaf margins are usually entire or have several large, blunt teeth. The inflorescence consists of short, narrow spikes of 6 to 20 sessile flowers, terminal or arising from leaf axils near the branch tips. The flowers have a 5-lobed calyx and a campanulate pale pink to nearly white 5-lobed corolla, 4–10 mm long, with the lobes spreading, as long or longer than the tube and often wider than long. The style is 3–8 mm long and the style and stamens are exserted. The fruit is a globose berry-like drupe, 6–9 mm long, containing 2 nutlets, going from green to white and then blackening as it progresses through the winter into the next spring. Western snowberry blooms from June into August in ravines, on open prairies, woods and hillsides throughout South Dakota.

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  Caryophyllaceae: Cerastium arvense ssp. strictum

  R Neil Reese

  Cerastium arvense ssp. strictum is a sprawling, mat-forming perennial herb, the flowering stems erect, 5-30 cm tall, with short simple to glandular hairs throughout. The small, simple, opposite, entire leaves are linear to narrowly oblong, 7-30 mm long and 1-5 mm wide on the flowering branches and generally smaller on the sprawling lateral branches. The inflorescence consists of terminal cymes with a 1-20 flowers on pedicels 5-30 mm long that generally curve downward as they age. The 5 green lance-elliptic sepals are 4-6 mm long and covered with glandular hairs. The petals are 1.5 to 2 times as long as the sepals, deeply cleft, white with grayish streaks and a yellowish throat. There are 10 stamens and 5 styles on the ovary. The fruit is initially a globose capsule that becomes cylindrical, 6-10 mm long when ripe. Prairie chickweed blooms from June to August in prairies, pastures and meadows in the northeastern corner and western edge of South Dakota.

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  Caryophyllaceae: Silene latifolia

  R. Neil Reese

  Silene latifolia is a biennial or short-lived perennial herb growing 30 to 90 cm tall from a thick, often woody taproot. There are usually several stems, erect, simple or branched below the inflorescence, and covered with sticky hairs, giving a somewhat rough texture. Leaves are opposite, simple, broadly ovate to lanceolate, 5 to 12 cm long and 2 to 6 cm wide, with entire or slightly toothed margins. The upper leaf surface is dark green and slightly hairy, while the lower surface is paler and also hairy. Petioles are short, typically less than 1 cm long, with the upper leaves often sessile. The inflorescence is a terminal or axillary cluster of white, five-petaled flowers about 20 to 30 mm in diameter. Flowers open in the afternoon into the evening from May through August. The plants are dioecious with male and female flowers are on separate plants. Each flower has five free, green to reddish sepals fused at the base and inflated, about 10 to 15 mm long and 3 to 5 mm wide, covered with sticky hairs. The petals are free, white, obovate, with two deep lobes at the tip, approximately 10 to 15 mm long and 5 to 7 mm wide. Male flowers have 10 stamens, pale yellow, that extend to or a little past the opening of the floral tube, with filaments 5 to 7 mm long and anthers 2 to 3 mm long. Female flowers have a pistil 5 to 6 mm long, with 5 styles that elongate and curl out over the collar. The fruit is a capsule about 8 to 12 mm long that ripens from July to September and opens by 10 teeth to release numerous small seeds. This species is native to Europe but naturalized in South Dakota, where it is found in disturbed sites, roadsides, fields, and open woods, scattered throughout the state.

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  Caryophyllaceae: Silene stellata

  R. Neil Reese

  Silene stellata is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 40 to 120 cm tall from a thickened taproot system. The stems are erect, single or multiple from the base, densely short-hairy in the upper plant and more sparsely so toward the base, and covered with fine, sticky hairs, giving a slightly rough texture. Leaves are simple, opposite in the lower regions and whorled above, ovate to lanceolate, 5 to 12 cm long and 2 to 6 cm wide, with entire margins. The upper leaf surface is dark green and slightly hairy, while the lower surface is lighter and sparsely hairy. Petioles are short, less than 1 cm long, with upper leaves often sessile. The plant bloom from June through September. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of white to pale pink, five-petaled flowers about 20 to 30 mm in diameter. Each flower has five free, green sepals that are tubular and fused at the base, approximately 10 to 15 mm long and 3 to 5 mm wide, covered with fine hairs. The petals are free, white to pale pink, obovate with 8-12 deep lobes at the tip, about 10 to 15 mm long and 5 to 8 mm wide. There are ten white stamens per flower, attached to the inner surface of the floral tube, with filaments 5 to 7 mm long and anthers 2 to 3 mm long. The pistil consists of three fused carpels forming a compound ovary with three locules, about 5 to 6 mm long, a style 4 to 6 mm long, and a three-lobed stigma. The fruit is a capsule, 8 to 12 mm long, that ripens from July to October and opens by six teeth to release numerous small seeds. Starry campion is native to South Dakota, found in rich woods, slopes, and open habitats, primarily in the eastern and central parts of the state.

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  Chenopodiaceae: Chenopodium berlandieri

  R Neil Reese

  Chenopodium berlandieri is an erect to ascending, unbranched to highly branched herb, mostly < 1 m tall, the stems with green to red to purple stripes and a sparse to dense white-mealy covering, especially on the upper stems. The simple alternate leaves are thick, 2-15 cm long, up to 8 cm wide, variable in shape, diamond-shaped to triangular to oval to lance-elliptic, the tip pointed to blunt, the margins with irregular teeth, the base wedge-shaped to straight, with petioles up to 8 cm long and a white-mealy covering. The lower leaves are largest, irregularly toothed, usually with a pair of shallow lobes near the base. The upper leaves become smaller and less toothy as they ascend the stem, with the uppermost leaves often much narrower and toothless. The inflorescence consists of terminal and axillary panicles of clusters of tiny flowers (glomerules). The flowers have 5 keeled sepals, that are covered with white-mealy dots, and surround the mature fruit. There are 5 stamens and a pistil with 2 styles. The fruit is a dry seed enclosed in the persistent sepals (utricle), arranged horizontally, and having a pitted surface. Pitseed goosefoot blooms from July into September on disturbed, open ground throughout South Dakota.

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  Chenopodiaceae: Chenopodium simplex

  R Neil Reese

  Chenopodium simplex is an erect annual herb. usually having a single stem with spreading branches growing up to 2 m tall. The simple, alternate leaves are thin, triangular to broadly ovate, 7-20 cm long 5-15 cm wide, with 1-5 irregular, large, sharply pointed lobes separated by broad, rounded sinuses. The lower leaves are largest with petioles up to about 2.5 cm long and the upper leaves are usually smaller with shorter petioles. The leaf surfaces are bright green, smooth, sometimes with a sparse, white-mealy covering when young but becoming smooth with age. The inflorescence is a terminal, compact panicle of small clusters of tiny flowers that becomes spread out at maturity. The flowers have 5 sepals, 5 stamens and a pistil with 2 styles. Within a cluster, the flowers may develop at varying rates with some just budding when others have maturing fruit. The fruit are 1-seeded, inflated, lens shaped pods (utricles), 1.5-2.5 mm in diameter. Mapleleaf goosefoot blooms from June into September in sandy and rocky soils in shaded woodlands and disturbed ground throughout much of South Dakota.

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  Clusiaceae: Hypericum perforatum

  R. Neil Reese

  Hypericum perforatum is a perennial herbaceous plant typically reaching heights of 30 to 90 cm. The plant has a fibrous root system and may spread by creeping rhizomes. Its stems are erect, square in cross-section, and usually glabrous or sparsely hairy with a reddish tint. The leaves are opposite, simple, narrow to oblong-lanceolate in shape, measuring approximately 1.5 to 4 cm long and 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide. Leaf margins are entire, and the leaf surfaces are smooth with characteristic tiny translucent glands that appear as perforations when held to light. Leaves are sessile and stipules are absent. The inflorescence usually forms in loose clusters (cymes) that bloom from late spring through summer (June–August). Flowers are about 1.5 to 2.5 cm in diameter, with five lanceolate to ovate sepals measuring 6 to 10 mm long and 2 to 4 mm wide, often marked by tiny black dots along the margins, and five bright yellow obovate petals approximately 1 to 1.5 cm long and 5 to 8 mm wide. The flowers contain numerous stamens, typically 30 to 60, grouped into three to five bundles. The pistil consists of three styles arising from a superior ovary, each ending with a stigma. The fruit is a small, ovoid to ellipsoid capsule approximately 5 to 8 mm long that splits open at maturity to release numerous tiny seeds Common St. John’s wort is native to Europe and parts of Asia, and is commonly found in South Dakota in disturbed areas, grasslands, roadsides, and open woods.

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  Commelinaceae : Tradescantia bracteata

  R. Neil Reese

  Tradescantia bracteata is a subsucculent perennial herb with erect to ascending, simple or occasionally branching stems, with 2-4 nodes and growing 5–45 cm tall. The stems can have a zig-zag appearance due to the jointed leaf attachment and multiple stems often emerge from an underground crown. The simple, alternate leaves are green with a whitish waxy coating, linear-lanceolate, 8-30 cm in length and 7-16 mm wide, rarely folded, with sheathing bases and entire margins. The inflorescence is an umbellate cyme of few to many flowers at the top of the stem, and at the ends of branches arising from leaf axils, with only 1 to a few open at a time and subtended by elongated bracts similar to the foliage leaves, 6-30 cm long. Flower pedicels are 2–3 cm long with glandular and non-glandular hairs. The 3 sepals are 10-13 mm long with glandular hairs and purplish margins. The 3 petals are broadly ovate, about 18 mm long and blue to rose-violet in color. The flowers open in the morning and typically wilt by noon. There are 6 stamens with bright yellow anthers and long blue hairs toward the base of the filaments. The fruit is a rounded capsule with three locules, each producing 1- few oblong seeds, 2-4 mm long. Long-bracted spiderwort blooms from May through August, growing on moist disturbed soils throughout South Dakota.

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  Commelinaceae : Tradescantia occidentalis

  R. Neil Reese

  Tradescantia occidentalis is a subsucculent perennial herb with erect, simple or occasionally branching stems, with 2-6 nodes and growing to 60 cm tall. The stems can have a zig-zag appearance due to the jointed leaf attachment. The simple, alternate leaves are green with a whitish waxy coating, linear-lanceolate, 9-33 cm in length and 4-15 mm wide, often folded, with sheathing bases and entire margins. The inflorescence is an umbellate cyme of few to many flowers at the top of the stem, and at the ends of branches arising from leaf axils, with only 1 to a few open at a time and subtended by elongated bracts similar to the foliage leaves, 6-20 cm long. Flower pedicels are 1-2 cm long with glandular hairs. The 3 sepals are 8-13 mm long with glandular hairs and purplish margins. The 3 petals are broadly ovate, 7-15 mm long and blue to rose in color. The flowers open in the morning and typically wilt by noon. There are 6 stamens with bright yellow anthers and long blue hairs toward the base of the filaments. The fruit is a rounded capsule with three locules, each producing 1- few oblong seeds, 2-4 mm long. Prairie spiderwort blooms from May through August, growing on sandy disturbed soils in western and northeastern South Dakota.

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  Convolvulaceae: Calystegia sepium ssp. angulate

  R Neil Reese

  Calystegia sepium ssp. angulate is a rhizomatous, perennial vining herb growing up to 4-5 m in length, the stems smooth and lacking tendrils, wrapping around plants and fences for support. The simple, alternate leaves are arrowhead shaped, the petioles are 2-7 cm long, and the blades are 2-15 cm long by 1-9 cm wide. The margins are entire to wavey. The axillary flowers are solitary on peduncles 3-13 cm long with 2 angular, somewhat inflated bracts, 14-26 mm long and 10-18 mm wide, surrounding the calyx. The 5 rounded, unequal sepals are 11-15 mm long by 4-6 mm wide, thin and somewhat transparent. The funnel shaped corolla is white, often tinged with pink on the edges, 4.5-6 cm long and about as wide at the opening. There are 5 subequal stamens 2.5-3 cm long and the style is about 2.5 cm long. Each flower usually lasts only 1 day. The fruit is a capsule, 10-13 mm in diameter and surrounded by the enlarged bracts that can reach 3.5 cm in length. Hedge bindweed blooms from June into August in thickets, atop fences and hedges throughout South Dakota.

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  Convolvulaceae: Convolvulus arvensis

  R Neil Reese

  Convolvulus arvensis is a rhizomatous, perennial, widely spreading, decumbent to vining herb with multiple stems growing up to 2 m in length, the stems smooth and lacking tendrils, lying on the ground or wrapping around plants and fences for support. The simple, alternate leaves are variable, ovate to heart shaped to arrowhead shaped, the petioles are 3-40 mm long, and the blades are 1-10cm long by 0.3-6 cm wide, the margins are entire to wavey, the lobes sometimes with 2-3 teeth. The axillary flowers are solitary or with 2-3 flowers on peduncles 1-9 cm long and pedicels 5-18 mm long. Each flower is subtended with 2 linear to elliptic bracts, < 1 cm long and about 2-3 cm below the flower. The 5 rounded, unequal sepals are 3-5 mm long by 2-5 mm wide, the inner ones largest, smooth to hairy. The funnel shaped corolla is white, often tinged with pink, with a yellow patch at the base, 12-25 mm long and about as wide at the opening. The 5 lobes of the corolla are very shallow. There are 5 stamens and a pistil with a divided style that are white, except the anthers that are often purple. Each flower usually lasts only 1 day. The fruit is a round to ovoid capsule, 5-7 mm in diameter. Field bindweed blooms from June into August in in disturbed ground throughout South Dakota.

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  Convolvulaceae : Ipomoea leptophylla

  R. Neil Reese

  Ipomoea leptophylla is a long-lived perennial shrub-like herb, with multiple smooth, decumbent to erect, stems, from a single large root, that grow 30-120 cm in length. The plant develops a large spindle shaped tuber that can extent more than 2 m into the ground and weigh up to 45 kg. The simple, alternate leaves are linear to linear-lanceolate, 3-15 cm long and 2-8 mm wide, petioles 1-7 mm long, the margins entire with a sharp tip. The inflorescence consists of axial cymes of 1-3 (rarely more) on long (7-10 cm) peduncles and each flower having a pedicel of 5-10 mm. The sepals are unequal in size, 5-10 mm long, the inner ones longer and wider than the outer. The purple to pink petals are fused, funnel shaped, 5-9 cm long with a darker throat. The stamens are included, unequal in length, 2-3 cm long with anthers 5-7 mm long. The pistil has a smooth, ovoid ovary and the style is included in the corolla. The fruit is an ovoid capsule 1-1.5 cm long. The seeds are large, 10 mm long and 4 mm wide, with a fine downy-haired coating. Bush morning glory blooms from May through September in the sandy plains and prairies of southwestern South Dakota.

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  Cornaceae: Cornus drummondii

  R. Neil Reese

  Cornus drummondii is a deciduous shrub or small tree reaching 3 to 7 meters tall. The bark is grayish-brown and becomes deeply furrowed and scaly with age. Roughleaf dogwood is characterized by stiff, rough-textured leaves that are opposite, simple, ovate to elliptical, typically 7 to 12 centimeters long and 3 to 6 centimeters wide, with petioles 1 to 2.5 centimeters long, with prominent veins and a slightly hairy underside. The margins are entire to slightly wavy. Flowering occurs in late spring (May to June) with flat-topped cymes of small, creamy white flowers about 5 to 7 millimeters in diameter. Flowers have four petals approximately 2 to 3 millimeters long and 1 to 1.5 millimeters wide and four green sepals about 1.5 to 3 millimeters long. There are eight stamens inserted around the superior ovary, with filaments about 2 to 4 millimeters long and small, yellowish anthers. The pistil is composed of a single ovary with a slender style and a slightly lobed stigma. The fruit is a globose, white to cream-colored drupe about 8 to 10 millimeters in diameter that matures from late summer into early fall. Roughleaf dogwood is native to the central United States and occurs in eastern South Dakota, typically in upland woods, prairies, and along streams.

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  Cornaceae : Cornus sericea

  R. Neil Reese

  Cornus sericea is a perennial branching stoloniferous, thicket-forming shrub, growing to 3 m in height. The stems have reddish bark, young branches with short, stiff hairs and older branches smooth. The simple, opposite, petiolate leaves are oblong-lanceolate to ovate, 3–15 cm long, 2-5-5.5 cm wide, with a pointed tip and with 5-7 pairs of prominent pennate veins that are curved toward the tip. The upper surface is green with a few hairs and the lower surface paler. When pulled apart, the veins produce white web-like strands. The inflorescences are flat-topped compound cymes, 3–10 cm across. The sepals are minute, the 4 white to cream colored petals are 2-4 mm long, attached to a disk, the ovary inferior and the stamens as long or longer than the petals. The fruit is a 1-2 seeded drupe, 6-9 mm in diameter. Red osier dogwood blooms from May through July along stream banks, lakeshores and in swampy wet places throughout South Dakota.

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  Crassulaceae: Sedum lanceolatum

  R. Neil Reese

  Sedum lanceolatum is a perennial succulent herb growing 10 to 30 cm tall from a shallow, fibrous root system. The stems are erect to ascending, smooth, and often reddish or green. Leaves are alternate, simple, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 1 to 4 cm long and 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide, with entire margins. The upper leaf surface is smooth and bright green, sometimes with a waxy coating, while the lower surface is lighter and glabrous. Petioles are short or nearly absent, with leaves often sessile or clasping the stem. The plant flowers from June through August. The inflorescence is a terminal cyme bearing star-shaped flowers about 10 to 15 mm in diameter. Each flower has five free, greenish, lanceolate sepals, 2 to 3 mm long, and five free, yellow petals that are lanceolate, 7 to 10 mm long. There are ten stamens per flower, with filaments about 5 to 7 mm long inserted at the base of the petals, and yellow anthers about 1 to 2 mm long. The pistil is single with five fused carpels forming a compound ovary with five locules, about 3 to 4 mm long, a style about 2 to 3 mm long, and a small, capitate stigma. The fruit is a five-chambered capsule about 5 to 7 mm long that ripens from July to September and splits open to release numerous tiny seeds. Lanceleaf stonecrop is native to South Dakota, occurring in rocky slopes, scree, alpine meadows, and open montane habitats, mostly in the western mountainous regions of the state.

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  Cucurbitaceae: Echinocystis lobata

  R. Neil Reese

  Echinocystis lobata is an annual, fast-growing, climbing vine from a fibrous root system that can reach lengths over 6 meters, with tendrils that help it climb shrubs and fences. Stems are slender, green to reddish, and covered with fine hairs and small prickles. Leaves are alternate, palmately lobed with 5–7 deeply cut lobes, 8 to 18 cm long and wide, broadly ovate with coarsely toothed margins and a rough, hairy texture. The petioles are about 6 to 15 centimeters long. Flowering occurs from June to September, producing small, white to pale greenish flowers in leaf axils. Flowers are unisexual and monoecious, with male flowers in open clusters and female flowers solitary or few. Each flower has five greenish-white sepals about 5 to 8 millimeters long and no true petals; instead, the sepal lobes form petal-like structures. Male flowers have numerous stamens fused into a column with anthers around 1 to 2 millimeters long. Female flowers have a single superior ovary with three styles ending in clustered stigmas. The fruit is a spiny, inflated capsule about 4 to 6 centimeters long and 3 to 5 centimeters wide, covered with hooked prickles, maturing in late summer to early fall and splitting open to release numerous seeds. Wild cucumber is native to South Dakota and is commonly found in moist woods, riverbanks, thickets, and edge habitats statewide.

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  Euphorbiaceae: Euphorbia esula var. uralensis

  R. Neil Reese

  Euphorbia esula var. uralensis is a perennial herbaceous plant, a variety of the invasive leafy spurge complex. It grows erect, typically 30–80 cm tall, with multiple branching stems arising from a deep, extensive root system. The stems are smooth and often glaucous (bluish green). Leaves are alternate, narrow, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 2–6 cm long and 5–15 mm wide, with entire margins and a somewhat waxy texture. This variety is distinguished by subtle morphological differences such as leaf shape and size compared to the nominal species, often adapted to more northern or central Eurasian habitats. Flowering occurs from late spring to early summer (May–July). The plant produces inconspicuous flowers surrounded by showy, yellowish-green bracts (cyathia), grouped in clusters at stem tips. The flowers are unisexual, but plants are monoecious. Fruit is a small three-lobed capsule containing seeds with elaiosomes that encourage ant dispersal. Leafy spurge is native to parts of Eurasia and introduced in North America, including South Dakota, where it is an aggressive invasive weed in pastures, rangelands, and disturbed areas.