Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Leonurus cardiaca
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Motherwort at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 164-16-001:
Leonurus cardiaca FAMILY Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Leonurus cardiaca
COMMON NAME:
Motherwort, Lion's-tail
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_159
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Leonurus cardiaca
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 164-16-001:
Leonurus cardiaca
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Leonurus cardiaca
3330
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Roadsides, pastures, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: central Asia
Uncommon in NC Mountains & NC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Leaves palmately 3-5 lobed
Petioles 1-5cm long
Margins coarsely serrate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Purplish-red
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx, the lobes spine-tipped
2-lipped corolla, upper hood-like, lower three-lobed
4 exserted stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p346
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p144
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".