Wyoming Kittentails

Veronica wyomingensis

Wyoming Kittentails (Veronica wyomingensis) is a low native perennial and one of the first wildflowers of the year in the Black Hills, sending up fuzzy purple spikes above a rosette of gray-green, hairy leaves in April and May. Its flowers have no petals; the color comes entirely from the stamens. It grows on rocky prairie, in grassy openings and in open pine woods in the foothills and Hills.

Free photos from other sources

Wyoming Kittentails: Clump of fuzzy purple flower spikes in dry prairie — Veronica wyomingensis. John Gaskin, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Wyoming Kittentails: Petal-less flowers with long purple stamens, close up — Veronica wyomingensis. John Gaskin, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Wyoming Kittentails: Plant with hairy leaves and a pinkish-purple spike on a rocky slope — Veronica wyomingensis. John Gaskin, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Wyoming Kittentails: Spike with fading stamens at the top and green fruits below — Veronica wyomingensis. Tom Norton, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Wyoming Kittentails: Brown seed spikes above leaf rosettes among pale rocks — Veronica wyomingensis. Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Wyoming Kittentails: Green spike packed with flattened seed capsules, held in a hand — Veronica wyomingensis. Brian Dickerson, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Quick facts
Family	Plantaginaceae · Plantain
Status	Native perennial
Blooms	April and May, with a few into June
Height	10–30 cm (4–12 in)
Where	Rocky prairie, grassy openings and open ponderosa pine woods in the foothills and Hills
Also called	Wyoming Besseya, Kittentail, Coral-drops
Synonym	Besseya wyomingensis, Synthyris wyomingensis, Wulfenia wyomingensis, Besseya cinerea, Besseya gymnocarpa, Wulfenia gymnocarpa, Synthyris gymnocarpa

Roots, seeds & germination

Root: A short underground base with a well-branched root system, from which the plant comes back each spring. It goes dormant by mid-August.

Seed: A small, flattened, hairy capsule, notched at the tip like a heart, holds many flat, round seeds that turn red-brown when ripe. Capsules turn tan and split from early summer at low elevations to August higher up.

Germination: The seeds need a cold, moist period before they sprout: Baskin and Baskin report 6 to 90 days of cold, moist stratification. In a Glacier National Park trial, seed sown outdoors in late fall came up in spring, but only about 14% germinated, and seedlings took two years to reach planting size.

How do you identify Wyoming Kittentails?

Look first for a low rosette of thick, gray-green, softly hairy leaves on long stalks, oval to oblong with scalloped edges, often tinged reddish. A stout, hairy stem 10–30 cm (4–12 in) tall carries a dense, fuzzy spike like a kitten's tail. The flowers have no petals: each is a small, hairy green calyx with two long purple to blue-violet stamens sticking out, so all the purple comes from stamens. Flowering moves up the spike, and soon the bottom is green and lumpy with flattened, notched capsules. Prairie Smoke and Pasque Flower bloom at the same time in the same places, but Prairie Smoke has nodding rose-red bells and Pasque Flower one large, cup-shaped flower per stem.

When does it bloom?

April and May, with a few into June.

Where does it grow?

Dry to moderately moist grassland, rocky prairie, grassy openings in ponderosa pine, and limestone ridges and outcrops, in open sun with early-spring moisture, at about 1,220–1,800 m (4,000–5,900 ft) in the Hills. The 1986 Jewel Cave survey lists it, and National Park Service lists record it at Wind Cave, Jewel Cave and Devils Tower. More than 35 herbarium specimens, back to 1888, come from the South Dakota Black Hills counties, including Custer State Park, with more from Crook and Weston counties in Wyoming.