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Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.
American gromwell Lithospermum latifolium
Photo © 2019, River Valley Photographic Resources Ltd., rvprltd.com
American gromwell grows in rich woodlands statewide. An individual plant may be one and one-half to two and one-half feet tall. Its stems and leaves are covered with small hairs. Flowers develop individually from the leaf axils at the stem tip. Flower color is yellow. The fruit is a nutlet. Long-tongued bees and butterflies are pollinators that can take advantage of the flowers.
Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.
