Froelichia floridana
Family: Amaranthaceae
Description: Annual to 1 m or higher with oblanceolate to elliptic or oblong leaves, 3-10 cm long. Flowers in spikes or panicles. Fruiting perianth 4-5 mm long, white, woolly.
Field Identification: Erect, stout, usually arching, unbranched or sparsely branched above, white-woolly. Leaves opposite, simple, sessile or stalked, narrowly oblong to oblanceolate or spatulate, broader at or below middle, silky or downy above, white-woolly below, occur mostly on lower 1/2 of stem; margins entire; tips pointed or blunt. Flask-shaped, 1-seeded, densely white-woolly; wings 2, lateral; seeds lens-shaped, rust-colored.
Plant Trivia:
Occurrence: Frequently found on deep sand in prairies, openings, and waste places. It grows in central and eastern North America, from the Great Plains to Mexico, east to the Atlantic Coast.
Bloom Period: April – November
Plant Use:
Dichotomous Key to the genus Froelichia:
- Leaves 10-25 mm wide………………..F. floridana
Leaves 3-7 mm wide……………………..F. gracilis
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