The Original Mystery Plant
Dr. John Nelson

Photo by Linda Lee

The mystery plant is one of the most easily recognized of all American wildflowers.

It is very widespread over all of the eastern U.S., east of a line drawn somewhere between the upper Midwest and eastern Texas. It is seen in a variety of habitats that are usually damp. It likes a mountain streamside in the shade but also does well in freshwater tidal marshes near the coast.

It can be found blooming in bogs or damp meadows. This species is a member of a rather large genus with about 300 or so different species widely scattered around the world. Some of these species make great garden plants.

These species are allied to the bluebells, which are collectively known as members of the genus Campanula, and most botanical treatments have them as members of the bluebell family. There is a considerable amount of controversy as to their accurate family placement; they may deserve recognition as their own, distinctive family.

The showy, red mystery plant is a perennial that comes up from a leafy base. The stems on vigorous individuals may be four feet or taller and smooth or slightly hairy. The bright green leaves are alternate and lance- shaped, either smooth- margined or with a few jaggedy teeth.

The flowers are always at the top of the stem in a raceme. Each flower has a short stalk and a green calyx. The calyx is bowl- shaped at the base but flares out into five sharp- pointed, spreading lobes.

The corolla is among the reddest of all wildflowers anywhere and nearly two inches long. These are extremely vibrant. The shade is somewhat variable, but it's the kind of red that artists would call cool.

Every now and then, these plants feature pink or even white corollas. The corolla is made up of five fused petals, which form a tube and at the upper end are two prominent lips. The lower lip is deeply divided into three sharp- pointed lobes, and the upper lip is deeply split down the middle or cleft.

Through this cleft rises a distinctive stamen tube with about five stamens fused together. The anthers are a pale blue- gray. Various sorts of bees visit these flowers but probably don't do any pollination because the bees' tongues are too short for these flowers.

However, hummingbirds are likely the most effective pollinators. Hummingbirds tend to go for red flowers or at least brightly colored ones, especially those that are tubular like the mystery plant.

Answer to this week's mystery plant [Answer: "Cardinal flower," "Red Betty," Lobelia cardinalis]

Dr. John Nelson is the curator of the USC Herbarium. To learn more about the Herbarium, call 777-8196. The

department also offers free plant identification.

www.herbarium.org