Appearance
The stems are hairless and usually unbranched. The leaves are serrated and arranged in whorls of 3-7 around the stem. The inflorescence is erect with slender and spike-like racemes to about 9 in long, giving the flower cluster a candelabra-like appearance. The stamens are crowded and protrude in a brush-like fashion perpendicular to the raceme. The corollas are white and are roughly 2mm in length. These plants flower for about a month from mid-June to late August, depending on the latitude.Naming
Other names and variants include Culver's-root, Culverphysic, Culver's physic, black root. The Latin specific epithet "virginicum" means "of Virginia", referring to a historic definition covering the entire eastern USA and southeastern Canada,. The name "Culver's root" derives from a certain Dr. Culver who was a pioneer physician of the 18th century and used its bitter roots for purgative purposes.Distribution
"Veronicastrum virginicum" is found from southern Maine to northwest Florida to northern Louisiana up through Minnesota and somewhat north of the Canada–US border.Habitat
Culver's root is frequently found in wet to wet-mesic prairies and sometimes moist upland sites. It is also found in a good number of prairie or native meadow restorations.The larvae of the Culver's root borer moth feed on this plant.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
