Perennial herb 10 cm tall Stem: trailing, rooting at the nodes. Leaves: opposite, to 5 cm long, oblong-lance-shaped to egg-shaped, tapering at base, deeply lobed, rough. Flowers: borne on a dense head-like spike, with bracts shorter than or equal to the calyx, a calyx at least 8 mm long with short triangular lobes, and a scarlet red corolla with the tube about twice as long as the calyx. Fruit: four nutlets.

Similar species: Glandularia species have a five-lobed calyx at least 8 mm in length, a corolla at least 1 cm long, and fruit separating into four nutlets. Glandularia bipinnatifida is distingushed by having a corolla tube one and a half times as long as the calyx, bracts mostly longer than the calyx, and slender calyx lobes, while Glandularia canadensis differs by its long bristle-like calyx lobes and more deeply cut leaves.

Flowering: June to August

Habitat and ecology: Introduced from South America, this species rarely escapes cultivation in the Chicago Region.

Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native

Notes: This species is a perennial in warmer climates (USDA zones 9 - 11), but is grown as an annual in the Chicago Region.

Etymology: Glandularia means "with small glands." Peruviana means "from Peru."

Author: The Morton Arboretum