~ BOARD OF WATER rn AND SOIL RESOURCES 11 2018 July Plant of the Month BWSR Featured Plant Name: Hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens) Plant family: Forget-me-not, borage (Boraginaceae) One of the showiest bright- orange flowers on the landscape, hoary puccoon is found throughout dry, native Plant Stats prairies in STATEWIDE Minnesota. WETLAND Top: The showy INDICATOR flowers that The word STATUS:UPL bloom first produce infertile “puccoon” is PRIMARY USES: seeds. The later- derived from Pollinator food blooming flowers and habitat that produce an Algonquian fertile seeds are far more word for plants inconspicuous. that yield dyes: poughkone. Its Contributed Photo taproot produces a purple-red Right: Hoary sap that was used as a dye. The puccoon foliage species is difficult to propagate, and flowers appear on a dry, so it’s typically unavailable from rocky prairie. native plant nurseries. But it plays Photo Credit: Megan Benage, an important role in remnant Minnesota DNR prairies, where it benefits from restoration efforts. Identification Planting Short-statured hoary puccoon Leaves and stems are covered inconspicuous, self-pollinating Advice typically grows 6 to 18 in dense, soft, white hairs; flowers produce fertile seeds Seed germination is inches tall. Typically only hence the name “hoary.” (Kittelson and Handler 2006). extremely difficult, one round stem shoots up Flower clusters form at The genus, Lithospermum perhaps because of low from the taproot, sometimes the stem tips, with blooms means “stone seed,” referring viability or unknown branching near the top of the elongating through the to the hard-coated nutlet methods to break plant. season. Flowers measure fruits produced. The nutlets dormancy. Because of its Leaves are alternate, up to 2½ a half-inch wide, with five are tear-drop shaped, initially taproot, the plant cannot inches long and a half-inch round lobes connected to a shiny gray-brown, and then be divided for propagation wide. One prominent vein a tubular base. The showy turning cream-colored upon — although some report down the middle narrows flowers produced first result maturity. Each fruit produces success transplanting to a blunt point at the tip. in infertile seeds. Later, a single seed. taproot cuttings. www.bwsr.state.mn.us 1 Uses Range The flowers have nectaries Widely distributed that are attractive to long- in Minnesota, hoary tongued bees, skippers puccoon occurs in and butterflies. The sun and part-shade, foliage provides a food dry prairies and open source for the larvae of a woods. Although it moth species and a long- grows well in dry soils, horned beetle. Because it can be found in many of the difficulty with seed different soil types and germination, this plant along woods’ edges is rarely found in prairie and openings. Hoary restorations. puccoon is an indicator Native Americans used the of high-quality, native, dye produced from the A wild indigo duskywing sips tallgrass prairie. The nectar from hoary puccoon. roots to color chewing gum Photo Credit: MJ Hatfield distribution follows the red. The foliage contains spatial extent of the Range map source: The Biota of North pyrrolizidine alkaloids that causing liver damage if prairies and Eastern America Project. (Note: Shades of green are toxic to mammals, ingested. deciduous woodlands. indicate where the species is present.) Similar Species Two species from the same genus occur similar to hoary puccoon. The flowers on the leaves. The flowers of fringed in Minnesota. Carolina (hairy) puccoon of Carolina puccoon are larger, usually (narrow-leaf) puccoon (Lithospermum (Lithospermum caroliniense) is the most 1 inch wide, with shorter, rough hairs incisum) are yellow with fringed edges. Left: Carolina puccoon. Photo Credit: Peter M. Dziuk Right: Fringed puccoon. Photo Credit: Katy Chayka References Kittelson, P. M., and S. D. Handler. 2006. Genetic diversity in isolated patches of the tallgrass prairie forb, Lithospermum canescens (Boraginaceae). The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 133:513–518. http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info https://www.wildflower.org http://www.kswildflower.org Developed by Jessica Petersen www.bwsr.state.mn.us 2 .