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  Fabaceae : Pediomelum esculentum

  R. Neil Reese

  Pediomelum esculentum is a perennial herb with a tuberous-thickened root, 4-10 cm below ground and with 1-3 caudices extending to the soil surface, producing 1-3 simple or rarely branched stems, 8 to 30 cm in height and covered with a dense pubescence. The alternate leaves are palmately compound with 5 leaflets attached to a petiole that is 5-10 cm long, with stipules 1-2 cm long. The leaflets are elliptic to ovate, 2–4 cm long, 7-18 mm wide, narrowing at the base, rounded, blunt or pointed at the tip. The upper surface is usually nearly smooth, and the lower surfaces are covered in flattened hairs. The inflorescences are axillary spike-like racemes, 5–12 cm long including the peduncle, and the spikes 2-2.5 cm wide. The calyx tube is 5-6.5 mm long, with 5 teeth, the upper 4 are 5-7.5 mm long, the middle 2 partially united, and the lower-most tooth 6-8 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla is blue with clawed (constricted at the base) petals, the petals beyond the claws measure: banner 9-13 mm, wings 9-13 mm and the keel 4-5 mm long. The fruit is an ovoid, single-seeded legume, 5-7 mm long, enclosed in the calyx. Prairie turnips bloom from May into July in prairies, open woodlands, on hillsides and in stream valleys throughout South Dakota.

  Synonym: Psoralea esculenta

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  Fabaceae: Securigera varia

  R. Neil Reese

  Securigera varia is a perennial herbaceous vine or groundcover growing from a fibrous root system. The stems are slender, sprawling to trailing, smooth or slightly hairy, and can reach up to 1 to 2 meters long, often forming dense mats. The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound with 15 to 25 leaflets. Each leaflet is oblong to lanceolate, measuring 1 to 3 cm long and 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide, often with a small tooth-like point at the tip. The upper leaf surface is dark green and glabrous (smooth), while the lower surface is lighter green and may have fine hairs. Leaf margins are entire or slightly serrated. Petioles are short, typically 1 to 3 cm long, supporting the leaflets in a feather-like arrangement. Plants bloom from June through September. The inflorescence is a terminal umbel with 15 to 30 pink to lavender flowers, each about 15 to 20 mm in diameter. Each flower has five free, small green sepals that are ovate and about 2 to 3 mm long, and five free petals forming the typical papilionaceous (butterfly-like) shape of legumes: a large banner petal (10–15 mm), two wing petals (8–12 mm), and two keel petals (7–10 mm) fused at the base. There are ten stamens per flower, nine filaments fused into a tube and one free (diadelphous), and yellow anthers about 1 to 2 mm long. The pistil is single with one carpel forming a simple ovary about 5 to 7 mm long, a style about 6 to 8 mm long, and a small stigma. The fruit is a slender, cylindrical legume pod about 3 to 6 cm long that ripens from August to October and contains several seeds. . Crownvetch is native to Europe and Asia but has become naturalized in South Dakota, commonly found in disturbed sites, open fields, roadsides, and is used as a groundcover in erosion control plantings, primarily in the eastern parts of the state.

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  Fabaceae : Thermopsis rhombifolia

  R. Neil Reese

  Thermopsis rhombifolia is a perennial rhizomatous herb, with 1 to several ascending to erect stems, 15–60 cm tall, with or without a covering of short, stiff hairs. This species is often colony forming in open prairies. The alternate, palmately trifoliate leaves have leaflets that are ovate, 15–50 mm long and 10-20 mm wide, with a few to many appressed hairs. The inflorescence consists of subterminal racemes, 3–10 cm long. The calyx forms a hairy, bilabiate tube, 4-5 mm long, the upper lip having 2 united teeth, 3-4 mm long , and the lower lip with 3 teeth 2-3 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla has yellow petals, the banner often has purple spots and is 17-22 mm long, the wings are 15- 18 mm long, and the oblong keel is 14-16 mm long. The flowers have 10 separate stamens. The fruit is a legume, 3–8 cm long with 3 to 10 seeds, constricted between the ~5 mm long seeds. Goldenpea blooms from April into June on open prairies, hillsides and woodlands in western South Dakota.

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  Fabaceae : Vicia americana

  R. Neil Reese

  Vicia americana is a rhizomatous, perennial herb, the stems sprawling to climbing, 20-100 cm long and smooth to having a sparse covering of hairs . The alternate leaves are compound pinnate with 4 to 8 pairs of elliptical to linear leaflets 10-38 mm long , a pair of stipules ~8 mm long, and with a tendril at the end of the leaf. The inflorescences are racemes in the axils of the upper leaves. The peduncles are well developed with 3-10 flowers. The calyx forms a tube 3.5-5.5 mm long with unequal teeth, the upper short and broad the lower narrower and pointed, 1.2-4 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla is blue to purple, rarely white. The banner is 12-25 mm long and the wings and keel shorter. The fruit is a legume, 2.5-3.5 cm long with 2-14 seeds. American vetch blooms from May to July in a variety of dry, open to moist, shaded habitats; mixed grass prairie, sagebrush steppe, meadows, pine forest, and deciduous woodlands throughout South Dakota.

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  Fumariaceae : Dicentra cucullaria

  R. Neil Reese

  Dicentra cucullaria is perennial herb, which grows 6 cm to 30 cm in height, with the flower stems and basal leaves rising directly from a scaly rootstock. The erect to ascending basal leaves have long petioles (5-15 cm}, the compound pinnatifid blades are ovate to triangular, 10-26 cm long, divided 2-3 times into lacy segments 1-3 mm wide, with entire margins. The flowering stems (scapes) are 10-30 cm tall, terminating in a raceme of 3-15 flowers, subtended by whitish bracts. The flowers are shaped like pantaloons. The 2 membranaceous sepals are white, sometimes streaked with purple, 2-3.5 mm long and 1.5-2.5 mm wide. The 4 white petals are yellow tipped, the outer 2 petals are spurred 10-15 mm long, the inner pair, oblanceolate, 7-12 mm long and convergent coherent at the top. The fruit is a capsule, 10-15 mm long, 3-6 mm in diameter. Dutchman’s breeches bloom from March into May in moist woods in eastern South Dakota.

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  Gentianaceae: Frasera speciosa

  R Neil Reese

  Frasera speciosa is perennial herb with a simple, erect stem, 20–150 cm in height, that is smooth to having a covering of tiny, scattered hairs. It grows from a woody base surrounded by a rosette of large oblanceolate leaves that measure 7–25 cm long. The lanceolate cauline leaves are whorled, smaller and more linear than the basal leaves. The inflorescence is a tall, erect panicle with flowers densely clustered at the top and spread out in separated clusters below. The numerous whorls of flowers are each subtended by gradually reduced, leafy bracts. The flowers have a calyx of 4 narrow, green pointed sepals, 8–15 mm long, and a corolla of 4 broad, yellow green pointed petals, 1-2 cm long, each with purple spots and two fringed nectary pits at the base. There are four stamens tipped with large anthers and a central ovary. The plant is monocarpic, growing as a rosette of leaves for several years and only producing a flowering stem once before it dies. The fruit is an oblong capsule, 1–2 cm long. Monument plant blooms from May to August depending upon elevation. It grows in meadows, woodlands, and mountain forests, primarily at moderate to high elevations in western South Dakota.

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  Gentianaceae: Gentiana affinis

  R. Neil Reese

  Gentiana affinis is a perennial, herbaceous plant with a fibrous root system and short rhizomes, forming low clumps. Mature plants typically reach 10–40 cm in height. Stems are erect, slender, and usually unbranched, with a smooth surface. Leaves are opposite or whorled, simple, lanceolate to elliptic, 2–8 cm long and 0.5–2 cm wide, with entire margins and acute tips. Leaf surfaces are dark green and glabrous on both sides. Petioles are absent or very short. Flowering occurs from July to September, with solitary or paired, large, tubular, trumpet-shaped flowers about 3–5 cm long. Flowers are typically deep blue to violet, sometimes with lighter markings, and remain closed or only slightly open at the mouth (hence “closed gentian”). The calyx is composed of five green sepals, 10–15 mm long, lanceolate and free or slightly fused at the base. The corolla is tubular with five lobes, 30–50 mm long, with a smooth texture and slightly flared tips. Stamens number five, attached to the corolla tube, with yellow anthers. The pistil is single, with a superior ovary, slender style, and capitate stigma. The fruit is a dry, dehiscent capsule, 15–25 mm long, containing numerous small seeds, maturing from late summer to early fall. Prairie gentian is native to South Dakota and is found in western prairies, open meadows, and rocky slopes, favoring well-drained, sandy to loamy soils in full sun to partial shade.

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  Gentianaceae : Gentiana andrewsii

  R. Neil Reese

  Gentiana andrewsii is perennial herb growing 10-70 cm tall, the stems smooth to minutely hairy. The simple, opposite leaves are 1.8-8.4 cm long and 0.5-3.5 cm wide, sessile, tapering to a point, and the leaves tend to become larger as they ascend the stem. The inflorescence is a dense terminal cluster of flowers, occasionally with additional clusters in the axils of upper nodes. The calyx tube is 10-12 mm long with 5 lanceolate lobes 4-10 mm long. The blue to purplish, occasionally white, corolla forms a 2.8-4 cm long, closed tube, the petals incurved, with the flowers resembling large buds. The fruit is a capsule, ~25 mm long, and wrapped with the dried petals and contains numerous winged seeds. Closed bottle gentians bloom in August and September in wet meadows, prairies and woods in western and northeastern South Dakota.

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  Gentianaceae : Gentiana puberulenta

  R. Neil Reese

  Gentiana puberulenta is a perennial herb with simple, erect to ascending stems, rarely branched, the stems typically reddish tinged, with a covering of minute, soft hairs, and growing 15-50 cm in height. The simple, opposite leaves are sessile to subsessile, lanceolate, 1-5.5 cm long and 0.3-2 cm wide, with entire margins. The leaf pairs are at right angles to those above and below. The inflorescences are in clusters of 3-10 flowers at the top of the stem and sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The calyx forms a tube, 7-18 mm long with lobes, 4-18 mm long. The blue purple to rose-violet corolla is funnel-shaped, 3-4 cm long, with the lobes erect to spreading. Inside the tube, the base of the petals is white with dark blue stripes or streaks. The fruit is a capsule that contains numerous winged seeds. Downy gentian blooms from August into October in drier prairies and upland woods on the eastern and western borders of South Dakota.

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  Geraniaceae: Erodium cicutarium

  R. Neil Reese

  Erodium cicutarium is an annual or biennial taprooted herbaceous species that initially forms a rosette with stems that typically grow 10–50 cm tall. The stems are slender, often reddish or purplish, and may be hairy or smooth. Leaves are 3–10 cm long, pinnately divided with narrow lobes, giving a fern-like appearance. Flowering occurs from spring through late summer (April–September). The flowers are borne singly or in small clusters on slender stalks. Flowers are small, typically 1–2 cm across, with five pink to purple petals that measure 10 to 15 mm in length and about 4 to 7 mm in width. Their edges are smooth, and the petals have a delicate, slightly translucent texture that enhances the visibility of the darker venation. The sepals are generally smaller than the petals, measuring about 6 to 9 millimeters long and 1.5 to 3 millimeters wide. They are often covered with fine hairs, giving them a slightly fuzzy appearance. Flowers are bisexual, with five stamens and a pistil. Fruit is distinctive: a long, beak-like style attached to a small seed capsule, this "stork's-bill" shape aids in seed dispersal by “catapulting” seeds away. Common Stork’s-bill is introduced and widespread in South Dakota, growing in disturbed sites, roadsides, fields, and grasslands, especially in drier areas.

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  Geraniaceae: Geranium viscosissimum

  R Neil Reese

  Geranium viscosissimum is a perennial herb growing with 1 to a few branching stems that form clumps. The stems, 30-90 cm tall, generally have short, stiff hairs below and longer hairs toward the top near the flowers, with glands throughout, the foliage is sticky to the touch. The petiolate leaves are mostly basal, with flat stiff hairs and glands that exude the sticky substance. The blades are 5-10 cm wide, palmately lobed with 5-7 sharply toothed divisions. The few culm leaves are mostly opposite, nearly sessile and somewhat smaller than the basal leaves. The inflorescence consist of small clusters of two to several pedicellate flowers attached to axillary peduncles. The 5 sepals are 8-12 mm long, pointed with short hairs on the tips. The 5 petals are pink to purple, 14-20 mm long, with long hairs toward the base and darker stripes converging on the center. There are 10 fertile stamens and a 5-parted style. The fruit are capsules with glandular-stiff-hairs and are shaped like an upraised crane's bill. Sticky geranium blooms from May into August in open woods and along streambanks in western South Dakota.

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  Hydrophyllaceae : Hydrophullum virginianum

  R. Neil Reese

  Hydrophyllum virginianum is a rhizomatous perennial herb with stems growing 10 to 90 cm in height. It has basal and alternate cauline leaves that are deeply pinnately divided, 5-30 cm long and 5-15 cm wide, with 5-9 ovate lanceolate to rhombic segments, each up to 11 cm long with the lowest pair distinct. The petioles are 5- 25 cm long and the leaf blades often have white markings that look like water spots. The inflorescence consists of 1-several subcapitate clusters of flowers, the peduncles 2-20 cm long, lifting the flowers above the leaves, and each flower has a pedicel up to 1 cm in length. The 5 linear lobes of the calyx are 4-7 mm long and have hairs along the edges. The bell-shaped corollas are white to purple, the tube 3-5 mm long with 5 lobes 3-5 mm long. The stamens are exerted 4-8 mm beyond the petals and the style is exerted by 5-10 mm. The fruit is a 2-seeded capsule. Waterleaf blooms from May into July in mesic woodlands in eastern South Dakota.

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  Iridaceae : Iris missouriensis

  R. Neil Reese

  Iris missouriensis is a rhizomatous perennial herb with erect, leafless. flower stalks (scapes) 25-60 cm tall. The basal leaves are linear, 25-45 cm long and usually less than 1 cm wide. The 1-2 flowers emerge from a spathe, 5-7.5 cm long. Each flower has 3 light to dark blue, spreading or reflexed sepals, 4-6 cm long, lined with purple and with a whitish blotch at the base, and three smaller, upright blue petals. There are 3 stamens opposite the sepals. The fruit is an oblong, 6 angled capsule, 5-8 cm long. Western blue flag blooms in June and July in wet meadows, along streambanks and open woodlands in western South Dakota.

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  Iridaceae: Sisyrinchium campestre

  R. Neil Reese

  Sisyrinchium campestre is a perennial herb growing 15 to 40 cm tall from a fibrous root system with short rhizomes. The stems are slender, erect, and smooth or slightly rough. Leaves are narrow, grass-like, linear to lanceolate, typically 10 to 25 cm long and 2 to 5 mm wide, with entire margins. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are smooth and bright green. The plant blooms from May through July. The inflorescence consists of a solitary flower or a cluster of a few flowers at the top of a stem. The flower stalks are enclosed within 2 leaf-like bracts, green to purplish brown, the outer one 3-5 cm and the inner one about half as long. Flowers are star-shaped, about 15 to 25 mm in diameter, with six tepals (petal-like segments) that are pale blue to light violet with a yellow base. Each tepal is about 7 to 12 mm long and 3 to 5 mm wide, with a smooth texture and entire margins. There are six stamens per flower, forming a column of with filaments about 5 to 7 mm long and yellow anthers about 2 to 3 mm long. The pistil consists of three fused carpels forming a compound ovary with three locules, a style about 5 to 6 mm long, and a trifid stigma. The fruit is a 3-lobed capsule about 6 to 8 mm long that ripens from July to August, releasing numerous small seeds. Prairie blue-eyed grass is native to the eastern parts of South Dakota, commonly growing in prairies, open woods, and meadows.

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  Iridaceae: Sisyrinchium montanum

  R. Neil Reese

  Sisyrinchium montanum is a perennial herb growing 15 to 40 cm tall from a fibrous root system with short rhizomes. The stems are winged, slender, erect, and smooth to slightly rough. Leaves are narrow, grass-like, linear to lanceolate, typically 10 to 25 cm long and 2 to 5 mm wide, with entire margins. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are smooth and bright green. The plant blooms from May through July. The inflorescence consists of solitary or small clusters of star-shaped flowers about 15 to 25 mm in diameter, initially enclosed in ovate to lanceolate bracts that are smooth in texture, and measure 10 to 20 mm long. The spathe bracts are positioned opposite each other at the base of the flower cluster and often have a slightly membranous margin. Each flower has six tepals that are pale blue to violet with a yellow base. Tepals measure about 7 to 12 mm long and 3 to 5 mm wide, with a smooth texture and entire margins. There are six stamens per flower, with filaments about 5 to 7 mm long and yellow anthers about 2 to 3 mm long. The pistil consists of three fused carpels forming a compound ovary with three locules, a style about 5 to 6 mm long, and a trifid stigma. The fruit is a 3-lobed capsule about 6 to 8 mm long that ripens from July to August, releasing numerous small seeds. Mountain blue-eyed grass is native to South Dakota, commonly found in moist meadows, open woods, and along streambanks, mostly in the northern and western parts of the state.

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  Lamiaceae: Agastache foeniculum

  R. Neil Reese

  Agastache foeniculum is a perennial rhizomatous herb, which grows 0.6 m to 1 m in height. The stems are square with opposite ovate to broad to lanceolate simple leaves, greenish above and whitish underneath due to fine, appressed hairs the leaf margins are finely toothed. When crushed the leaves smell of anise. Flowers open in July and August and are arranged in a terminal spike-like raceme. The tubular calyx is 5 toothed 5-7 mm long and lavender toward the tips. The corolla is 2-lipped 7-10 mm long and lavender to bluish-purple in color. Stamens 4 and exerted from corolla. Pistil with 2 carpels with a 2-part style. Fruit are 4 nutlets. Lavender hyssop blooms from June through September. This species is commonly found in upland woods and prairies in both eastern and western South Dakota.
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  Lamiaceae: Glechoma hederacea

  R. Neil Reese

  Glechoma hederacea is a perennial, creeping herbaceous plant that spreads by stolons, forming dense mats on the ground. Stems are square in cross-section, typically reaching 10–50 cm in length, hairy, and spreading laterally or creeping along the soil surface, often rooting at nodes. Leaves are opposite, rounded to kidney-shaped with scalloped edges, 2–4 cm across, and aromatic when crushed. Flowering occurs from spring to early summer (April–June). The flowers are small, tubular, and bilaterally symmetrical, borne singly or in small clusters from leaf axils. They are typically light purple to bluish with darker purple markings on the lower lip. Each flower has five sepals and five petals. The sepals form a tubular calyx about 0.5–1 cm long, with five pointed lobes that are lanceolate in shape. The petals are fused into a two-lipped corolla about 1–1.5 cm long: the upper lip is hooded and two-lobed, while the lower lip spreads out and is three-lobed with a slightly notched center lobe. Flowers are bisexual with four stamens and a single, superior ovary formed from two fused carpels, which develops into a four-lobed schizocarp fruit that splits into four one-seeded nutlets that mature in late summer. Ground ivy is introduced and widespread in South Dakota, found in lawns, gardens, roadsides, and shaded disturbed areas.

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  Lamiaceae: Lamium amplexicaule

  R. Neil Reese

  Lamium amplexicaule is an annual herbaceous plant growing 10 to 40 cm tall with a fibrous root system. The stems are square in cross-section, sprawling to ascending, and covered with fine hairs. Leaves are opposite, simple, and broadly ovate to orbicular with rounded or slightly lobed margins, measuring about 2 to 5 cm long and wide. Leaves are sessile, clasping the stem (amplexicaul). The leaf surfaces are hairy and rough to the touch. The inflorescence consists of whorls of tubular, two-lipped flowers arranged in leaf axils, flowering from early spring to early summer (March–June). The calyx is composed of five sepals fused into a tubular cup about 5 to 8 mm long, with five pointed lobes that are ovate-lanceolate in shape and covered with fine hairs. The corolla is bilabiate, about 1 to 1.5 cm long and 0.5 to 0.8 cm wide, with the upper lip forming a hood that is broadly ovate and rounded, while the lower lip is three-lobed with the central lobe being the largest and slightly notched. The petals are pink to purple with darker markings on the lower lip. The flowers have four stamens, two long and two short, and a superior ovary with a bifid style. The fruit is a schizocarp that splits into four nutlets. In South Dakota, Henbit deadnettle is an introduced species, native to Eurasia, commonly found in disturbed sites, lawns, gardens, fields, and roadsides statewide.

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  Lamiaceae: Leonurus cardiaca

  R. Neil Reese

  Leonurus cardiaca is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 0.5 to 1.5 meters tall. It has a fibrous root system with occasional short rhizomes. The stems are square in cross-section, erect, and typically covered with fine hairs. Leaves are opposite, simple, and palmately lobed with 3 to 5 deep lobes, measuring about 5 to 12 cm long and wide. Leaves are petiolate, with petioles approximately 2 to 5 cm long, and the leaf surfaces are sparsely to moderately hairy. The leaf margins are coarsely toothed. The inflorescence is a dense, interrupted spike of whorled flowers around the stem, flowering from mid to late summer (June–August). The calyx consists of five sepals fused into a tubular base about 4 to 7 mm long with five triangular-ovate, pointed lobes covered in fine hairs. The corolla is tubular, bilabiate, measuring about 8 to 12 mm long and 5 to 7 mm wide, with a hooded upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip; the petals are pink to purplish in color. Flowers have four stamens, two long and two short, and a superior ovary with a bifid style. The fruit is a schizocarp that splits into four nutlets. Motherwort is an introduced species native to Europe and parts of Asia. In South Dakota, it is found scattered in disturbed habitats, roadsides, and fields throughout the state.

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  Lamiaceae : Mentha arvensis

  R. Neil Reese

  Mentha arvensis is an aromatic, perennial, rhizomatous herb with square, simple to branched, ascending to erect stems growing from 30-90 cm tall. The stems are usually hairy to nearly smooth with rings of hairs at the nodes. The simple, opposite leaf blades are lanceolate to ovate, 2.5-12 cm long and 5-40 mm wide, slightly small toward the top, with the upper surface generally without hairs and the lower surface with hairs along the veins. The margins are toothed with hairs along the edges and the petioles are 3-15 mm long. The inflorescence consist of paired 8-30 flowered cymes in the axils of leafy bracts. Each flower with a pedicel 1-3 mm long. The 5-lobed hairy calyx is tubular to bell-shaped, 2.5 -3.3 mm long, with teeth about ¼ length of the tube. The weakly bilabiate corolla is whitish to lavender in color, 4.5-6.5 mm long. The 4 stamens and the style are exerted from the corolla by 1-2 mm. the fruit are 4 nutlets. Field mint blooms from July into September in moist shaded sites, streambanks, lake shores and marshes throughout South Dakota.

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  Lamiaceae: Monarda fistulosa

  R. Neil Reese

  Monarda fistulosa is an aromatic, rhizomatous perennial herb with simple to branched, square stems, 30-120 cm tall, the upper portions hairy. The simple, opposite leaves are petiolate (10-25 mm long). The blades are lanceolate to ovate, 2-5 cm long and 4-20 mm wide, with small glands, a pointed tip, and toothed to subentire margins. The inflorescence is a terminal cluster of flowers on the main stem and branch ends, 1-5 cm wide, excluding the corollas, and subtended by green to whitish bracts, 1-2.5 cm long. The calyx forms a hairy tube, 5.5-11 mm long with teeth up to 1.5 mm long. The pale to dark lavender (rarely white) bilabiate corolla is 2-3.5 cm long, the outer surface hairy, the tube at the base slender, 15-25 mm long, the upper lip erect and shorter than the tube, and the lower lip is spreading, 3-lobed. The stamens are exerted from the upper lip. The fruit are 4 brown to black nutlets, 1.5-2 mm long. Beebalm blooms from June into September on prairie hillsides, along roads and open woodlands in most of South Dakota.

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  Lamiaceae : Nepeta cataria

  R. Neil Reese

  Nepeta cataria is a perennial herbaceous plant growing from a fibrous root system, 40 to 100 cm tall with square, branched stems covered in fine hairs. The opposite leaves are ovate to heart-shaped, 3 to 7 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide, serrated along the margins, and slightly hairy; they release a strong minty aroma when crushed, due to the presence of nepetalactone. The flowers are tubular and bilabiate, arranged in dense, spike-like verticillasters along the upper stems, blooming from late spring through early fall (June–September). Each flower has a calyx composed of five sepals fused into a tubular structure 5 to 7 mm long, with five distinct teeth. The corolla consists of five petals fused into a bilabiate tube 10 to 15 mm long, pale lavender to white with darker purple markings on the lower lip. There are four didynamous stamens (two long and two short), attached near the base of the corolla tube. The pistil consists of a superior ovary with a single style about 4 to 6 mm long, terminating in a bifid stigma approximately 1 to 2 mm wide; the stigma lobes are rounded. The fruit is a schizocarp divided into four smooth, shiny, brown nutlets approximately 2 to 3 mm long. Catnip is an introduced species in South Dakota, commonly found in disturbed sites, roadsides, and open fields throughout much of the state; it is native to Europe and Asia.

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  Lamiaceae :Stachys pilosa

  R. Neil Reese

  Stachys pilosa is a perennial, herbaceous plant with a fibrous root system and short, creeping rhizomes, forming loose, spreading clumps. Mature plants typically reach 30–90 cm in height. Stems are square in cross-section, erect, usually unbranched below the inflorescence, and densely covered with long, soft, spreading hairs (pilose). Leaves are opposite, simple, ovate to lanceolate, 4–12 cm long and 1–4 cm wide, with coarsely toothed margins and a rounded to slightly cordate base. The upper surface is medium to dark green and softly hairy, while the lower surface is paler and densely hairy. Petioles are present, 1–3 cm long, also covered with hairs. Stipules are absent. Flowering occurs from June to September, with dense, terminal and axillary spikes (verticillasters) 3–10 cm long, each containing many whorls of small, tubular flowers. The calyx is tubular, 7–10 mm long, with five narrow, pointed lobes, green, hairy, and slightly glandular; lobes are equal and not strongly spiny. The corolla is two-lipped (bilabiate), 12–16 mm long, pink to lavender, with the upper lip arched and the lower lip spreading and three-lobed. There are four stamens (didynamous: two longer and two shorter), about 7–10 mm long, with white to pale pink anthers. The pistil is single, with a deeply four-lobed ovary, a slender style 12–15 mm long, and a two-lobed stigma. The fruit is a cluster of four small, brown nutlets, each 2–3 mm long, maturing from late summer into fall. Downy woundwort is native to South Dakota and is found in prairies, open woodlands, roadsides, and moist, disturbed habitats, often in moderately rich, well-drained soils and full to partial sun.

  Synonym: Stachys palustris ssp. pilosa

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  Liliaceae : Allium cernuum

  R. Neil Reese

  Allium cernuum is a perennial herb, which grows from a membranous bulb with stems 30 cm to 45 cm in height, that are usually bent just below the cluster of flowers. Each mature bulb typically bears a single flowering stem with up to 30 flowers. The leaves are keeled grass-like, flat or channeled and 2-4 mm wide. Flowers emerge from a membranous spathe in July and August, with the umbel nodding or laterally projected. The tepals are 3-5 mm long and white to pink in color. The 6 stamens are exerted from the tepals, and the ovary is prominently 6-crested. The fruit is a 3 valved capsule. This species is commonly found throughout much of Northern America in mountainous and cool regions, on ledges, gravels, rocky or wooded slopes and crests. Because of its wide distribution, it is variable in plant size, flower color and bloom time.

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  Liliaceae: Allium stellatum

  R. Neil Reese

  Allium stellatum is a perennial herb, arising from a bulb as a leafless scape growing from 20 to 60 cm tall. The stem is surrounded by grass-like lanceolate basal leaves that are up to 30 long. The leaves die back as the rounded umbel of pink to purple flowers emerge at the end of the scape in late summer. The umbel is 5–8 cm across, and each of the flowers has 6 tepals that flare outward and are about 6 mm long. The stamens are exerted, and the pistil has 6 locules. The fruit is a capsule with usually 1 seed per locule. This species is commonly found on prairies and hillsides.