Vinegarweed

Description

Trichostema lanceolatum is an annual herbaceous wildflower, growing under 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height. The soft-hairy foliage has lanceolate leaves, 0.8-3 inches (2.0-7.6 cm) long. In hot weather the vinegar smell of the plant becomes intense as the oils in the tissues permeate the air. The bilaterally symmetrical flowers, of pale blue to purple, are in long clusters in leaf axils on short green stems. The blooming period is from August to October. Plants reproduce only by seed that are primarily dispersed by falling to the ground below the parent plant.