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Description
"Perennial herb, 30-100 cm tall, from a branched woody caudex; stems 1-several, slender and erect, simple or branched, the branches pointing upward; herbage glabrous. Leaves: First-year plants have a basal rosette of leaves which are petiolate, oblanceolate, 5-10 cm long, entire to toothed, and early-deciduous; stem leaves are oblanceolate low on the stem and linear above, short-petiolate or with cuneate bases, mostly entire or slightly toothed around the edges. Flowers: Purple and somewhat showy, in few-flowered racemes at branch tips, with ascending pedicels to 1 cm long; sepals 4, purplish, 5-6 mm long, the inner pair with slightly sac-shaped bases; petals 4, forming an X-shape, each petal 1-2 cm long, lavender to purplish with darker veins, with an obovate blade and slender claw. Fruits: Capsules linear, very slender, 3 mm to 7 cm long, ascending; seeds 1.5 mm long, in one row per locule." (SEINet)
Ethnobotanical Uses
"Used as a ceremonial eyewash and as a mouthwash for sore gums.(SEINet)
Internet Resources