Lvs ovate-oblong to broadly ovate, 8-15 cm, short- acuminate, coarsely serrate or incised; infls 5-15 cm, terminal and from the upper axils; bracts oval, folded; pedicels 1-3 mm; cal at anthesis 3 mm, in fr 9-12 mm and hairy within. Native of India, cult. for its ornamental foliage and sometimes used as a condiment, but in larger amounts causing severe pulmonary edema; escaped into waste places and roadsides, Mass. to Io. and Kans., s. to Fla. and Tex. Aug., Sept.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

From Flora of Indiana (1940) by Charles C. Deam

Sparingly escaped from gardens. We have had only four county records. I noted it covering at least half an acre in an open woods in Perry County. In a sandy woods about 3 miles northwest of Bicknell, in Knox County, it was a common weed over the greater part of a 20 acre woods. This woods had been heavily grazed by hogs. It is to be noted that even hogs do not disturb it and if it once gets started it may become a permanent plant. It is an annual which is frequently grown as a border plant. I have grown it for years and have allowed a few plants to seed themselves annually but have never noted seedlings except in the flower beds.

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Indiana Coefficient of Conservatism: C = null, non-native

Wetland Indicator Status: FAC