Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Agalinis tenuifolia
FAMILY
Orobanchaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
In general vegetative look, it is similar to several other Agalinis species of dry places, such as A. setacea and A. decemloba; however, the flowers of this species are completely unlike any others. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Agalinis tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Agalinis tenuifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17 (2019)
Agalinis tenuifolia
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. leucanthera
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. macrophylla
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. polyphylla
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-25-008:
Agalinis tenuifolia FAMILY Scrophulariaceae
INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Gerardia tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. leucanthera
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. macrophylla
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. polyphylla
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
COMMON NAME:
Common Gerardia, Slenderleaf Agalinis, Slender False Foxglove, Slender Gerardia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_agbe_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm160827_693
August Henderson County NC
Bearwallow Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm230805_4715
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm230805_4716
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm230805_4719
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
The purplish coloration is characteristic of this species. However it is not always seen..., per www.missouriplants.com (Tenaglia).
)
JK Marlow jkm230805_4721
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
Gill Newberry gn09_a_tenuifolia_flowers
September
Throat of the light purple corolla is not hairy like other related species, per Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000).
)
Gill Newberry gn09_a_tenuifolia_habit
September
)
JK Marlow jkm0509h_20
September Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Linear leaves to .25" wide, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0509i_07
September Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Parasitic on the roots of grasses, etc, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm130922_413
September Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150912_047
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm210914_3689
September Greenville County SC
A wiry plant with linear leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm210914_3692
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210914_3705
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210914_3705b
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm220927_0098
September Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Flowers have the upper 2 lobes arched downward to nearly cover or shade the opening, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm0410j_34b
October Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Pedicels more than 2.5x as long as calyx (more than 10mm long in fruit), per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
pedicels of Gerardia species
)
JK Marlow jkm0410k_12
October Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm211003_4045
October Greenville County SC
Leaf blades narrowly linear to linear-lanceolate; axillary fascicles absent or < subtending leaves, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm211003_4049
October Greenville County SC
)
Dan Whitten sdw_agalinis_tenuifolia
October Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Agalinis tenuifolia
FAMILY
Orobanchaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Agalinis tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Agalinis tenuifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17
Agalinis tenuifolia
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. leucanthera
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. macrophylla
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. polyphylla
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-25-008:
Agalinis tenuifolia
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
INCLUDING
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Gerardia tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. leucanthera
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. macrophylla
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. polyphylla
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Agalinis tenuifolia var. tenuifolia
34
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Wooded slopes, savannas, granitic outcrops, roadsides, other dry habitats, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in GA Coastal Plain, rare in Carolina Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rose-lavender
(throat lined with yellow)
Weakly bilaterally symmetrical
5-parted calyx
5-parted campanulate corolla
4 included stamens (2 long, 2 short)
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p106
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p79
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p322
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p091
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p270
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p235
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p279
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p153
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".