Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate deciduous forest

Range

Eastern North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A woodland perennial with mottled, water-stained leaves that give the plant its name, topped by dense clusters of pale purple-white bell-shaped flowers in spring. Its young leaves were historically eaten as a potherb by Indigenous peoples and early settlers.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Boraginales

Family

Boraginaceae

Genus

Hydrophyllum

Species

Hydrophyllum virginianum