小花山桃草 xiao hua shan tao cao

Herbs annual or short-lived biennial, vigorously growing, with a heavy taproot. Stems erect, 30-200(-300) cm tall, simple below to well-branched on inflorescence, soft villous throughout and usually also glandular pubescent; lower leaves often deciduous by time of flowering and lower stems then naked. Leaves grayish green, with inconspicuous veins, strigillose and sometimes villous; subsessile above to shortly petiolate below; basal blade 5-15 × 1-3 cm; cauline blade narrowly elliptic to broadly lanceolate or oblanceolate, 2-12.5 × 0.5-4 cm, base cuneate to attenuate, margin entire to sinuate-denticulate, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescence one to many, slender, dense spicate racemes 5-45 cm, nodding at tips, subglabrous to densely hairy, ± ebracteate. Flowers open near sunset; floral tube 1.5-3 mm. Sepals 2-3.5 mm, without free tips. Petals pink to rose, 1.5-3 mm, slightly clawed. Anthers 0.8-1.1 mm; pollen ca. 90+% fertile. Ovary glabrous or puberulous; stigma surrounded by anthers. Capsules indehiscent, reflexed at maturity, fusiform, weakly 4-ridged, 2-4-seeded, 5-11 mm, sessile. Seeds 2-3 mm. Fl. Apr-Sep, fr. May-Oct. 2n = 14; self-compatible, autogamous.

Weedy areas near cultivation, roadsides; 100-800 m. Anhui, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shandong [native to EC North America (including Mexico); naturalized in Japan and widely in Australia and South America].