Grows in rich woods, especially in calcareous soils. It once grew on islands in the Potomac River near Washington, DC, but is now thought to be extirpated from those locations. (J. Hill/MNPS)
There are five petal-like sepals, with the upper sepal forming an unusual, long, slightly curved nectar spur that extends upward and behind the rest of the flower. The four petals consist of two upper ones that are very small and whitish towards the base, and extend backward into the spur; and two lower ones, which are hairy and surround the whitish opening that leads to the spur. The flower is usually purple or blue-violet, but can be white, and in this photo we see some plants that have purplish flowers and others whose flowers are whitish. Most of the leaves are at the base of the plant, with a few along the lower part of the flowering stalk. The leaves are palmately five-parted, with each part divided into shallow secondary lobes. (J. Hill/MNPS)
The flowers are pollinated mainly by long-tongued bees (J. Hill/MNPS)
There are 62 records in the project database.
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