long, usually several spikes at top
of stem or from upper axils. Calyx 4-parted, very small; corolla
tubular, 4-lobed; 2 stamens protruding; pistil. Stem: Straight,
erect, usually unbranched, 2 to 7 ft. tall. Leaves: Whorled, from
3 to 9 in a cluster, lance-shaped or oblong, and long-tapering,
sharply saw-edged.
Preferred Habitat - Rich, moist woods, thickets, meadows.
Flowering Season - June-September.
Distribution - Nova Scotia to Alabama, west to Nebraska.
Slender, erect white wands make conspicuous advertisements in
shady retreats at midsummer, when insect life is at its height
and floral competition for insect favors at its fiercest. Next of
kin to the tiny blue speedwell, these minute, pallid blossoms
could have little hope of winning wooers were they not living
examples of the adage, "In union there is strength.' Great
numbers crowded together on a single spike, and several spikes in
a cluster that towers above the woodland undergrowth, cannot well
be overlooked by the dullest insects, especially as nectar
rewards the search of those having midlength or long tongues.
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