Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: slenderleaf false foxglove
Type: Annual
Family: Orobanchaceae
Native Range: North America
Zone: 2 to 11
Height: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: August to October
Bloom Description: Purplish-pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy
Culture
Best grown in medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist soils, but is sometimes found in the wild in dryish soils. This plant is an annual that will remain in the garden through self-seeding and/or reseeding each year. The roots of this plant are reported to be partially parasitic on the roots of neighboring plants.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Agalinis tenuifolia, commonly called slender false foxglove, is an annual wildflower that is native to woodlands, fields, prairies, wet thickets and along streams from Maine to Manitoba south to Florida and Texas. It is found throughout the State of Missouri. This is a wiry-branched plant with a narrow-ridged mainstem. It generally grows to 20” tall. It features very narrow linear leaves to 3” long and 1/8” wide. Purplish-pink flowers (to 3/4” long) with dark purple inside spotting bloom from the upper leaf axils on slender pedicils from August to October. Flowers are funnel-shaped with 5-lobed corollas. Each flower blooms only for one day. Agalinis comes from aga (remarkable) and linum (flax) in reference to a purported resemblance of this plant to flax. Synonymous with and formerly known as Gerardia tenuifolia.
Genus name comes from the Greek aga meaning remarkable and the Latin linum meaning flax for the flowers that superficially resemble those of flax.
The specific epithet means narrow-leaved.
Problems
No known serious insect or disease problems. Reseeding each year may be necessary in order to keep this plant in the garden.
Uses
Woodland gardens, native plant gardens or naturalized areas.