Agalinis tenuifolia (Vahl) Raf.

Slender Leaf False Foxglove

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Slender Leaf False Foxglove is a native annual herbaceous hemi-parasite in the Broomrape family (Orobanchaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. Slender Leaf False Foxglove occurs in thin woods, on roadsides, on rock outcrops, and in prairies. It is an annual with a tap root and weak root system. Stems are from 1-2 feet in height, erect, and much branched. The stems may be green or more often purplish in color and are somewhat angled. Stems are glabrous. Leaves are opposite, sessile, linear in outline, and glabrous. The foliage may be green or purplish. Flowers are produce solitarily from the leaf axils. Flowers are borne on pedicels that are 2.5 or more times as long as the calyx. Flower buds are whitish in color. The calyx is short tubular with obscure veins. The flower is pink-purple in color with dark purple spots and two yellow or white lines within the throat. The corolla is 5 lobed, with the two upper lobes folding down and partly blocking the throat of the flower. The corolla lobes are ciliate along their margins and the throat is glabrous within. The fruit is a capsule with many small seed. Three varieties of Slender Leaf False Foxglove have been reported from Alabama. Agalinis tenuifolia var. leucanthera (Rafinesque) Pennell has corollas that are 15-23 mm long. The other two varieties have corollas 10-15 mm in length. Agalinis tenuifolia var. macrophylla (Bentham) S.F. Blake has calyx lobes 1-2 mm long, capsules 5-7 mm long, and seed with pronounced reticulations. Agalinis tenuifolia var. tenuifolia has calyx lobes less than 1 mm long, capsules 3-4 mm long, and seed with fine reticulations. Slender Leaf False Foxglove is available from some wildflower nurseries as seed. It prefers full to partial sun but it not demanding about soil type or moisture. Slender Leaf False Foxglove is hemi-parasitic on the roots of grasses and other herbs. For development to occur the plant must establish a connection with a host via the root systems. This species must be s

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Native

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