False Gromwell
Onosmodium bejariense
False Gromwell (Onosmodium bejariense), also called Marbleseed, is a native perennial, 30 to 90 cm (12 to 35 inches) tall, with bristly hairs, nearly stalkless veined leaves and nodding white tubular flowers with a long white style sticking out. It blooms May into July in sandy or rocky prairies and open woodlands in South Dakota. Photographed in the Black Hills.
| Family | Boraginaceae · Borage |
|---|---|
| Status | Native perennial |
| Blooms | May into July |
| Height | 30–90 cm (12–35 in) |
| Where | Sandy or rocky prairies, open woods and well-drained uplands |
| Also called | Marbleseed, Western False Gromwell, Western Marbleseed, Soft-hair Marbleseed, Western Onosmodium |
| Synonym | Onosmodium molle, Onosmodium molle var. occidentale, Onosmodium occidentale, Onosmodium bejariense var. occidentale, Lithospermum occidentale |
Roots, seeds & germination
Root: A woody base over a deep taproot, with several stems rising from it.
Seed: Up to four hard, smooth nutlets per flower, 3–5 mm long, forming August through September. Seed can stay dormant in the ground for several years.
Germination: Seeds may need cold stratification (a cold, moist spell). Sow in well-drained soil in fall or early spring.
How do you identify False Gromwell?
Nodding, tubular white flowers hang in one-sided, coiled clusters, with five hairy lobes that nearly close the mouth of the tube and a long white style that sticks out and stays after the petals fall. Leaves are bristly, toothless and stalkless or nearly so, with several deep, nearly parallel veins. Smooth nutlets, brown ripening to white, stay on the dead stems over winter.
When does it bloom?
May into July.
Where does it grow?
Sandy or rocky prairies, open woodlands and well-drained upland sites in South Dakota, in full sun to part shade.
Other flowers to compare
Sources: SDSU Open PRAIRIE: Onosmodium bejariense; Minnesota Wildflowers: Onosmodium bejariense; Illinois Wildflowers: Western Marbleseed; Minnesota Seasons: Western marbleseed; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Onosmodium bejariense var. bejariense.