Herb 5-10 dm, often emitting a whorl of branches from the base of the primary spike; lvs 3-8 cm; lance-ovate, elliptic, or oblanceolate, serrate with incurved glandular teeth; spikes stout, erect, 5-10 cm, the staminate portion eventually deciduous; staminate fls clustered in the axils of minute bracts, each bract with 2 conspicuous, saucer-shaped glands; fr glabrous, 1 cm. Dry woods; se. Va. to Fla., Tex., and N.M., n. in the interior to Kans. May, June.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.