Twospike Fingergrass

Description

This species is a perennial herb producing a hairy, erect stem up to about half a meter in maximum height. It grows from a network of rhizomes with tubers. The distinctive pale-colored tuber is several centimeters long and about one centimeter wide, and is segmented in such a way that it resembles the rattle on the tail of a rattlesnake,the inspiration for the common name "rattlesnake weed". The tuber is also said to resemble "a fat grub". The tuber can reportedly grow up to one meter long in sandy soils.The oppositely arranged leaves have blades up to 5.5 centimeters long borne on petioles up to 3.5 centimeters long. Flowers grow in clusters of 3 to 6 from the upper leaf axils. The tubular, hairy calyx of sepals has pointed lobes. The two-lipped corolla is up to 1.3 centimeters long and white to pink with purple spots or darker lines. The fruit is a schizocarp a few centimeters long that splits in half. The seeds are about a millimeter long.