''Lithospermum caroliniense'', commonly known as the hairy puccoon or Carolina puccoon or Plains puccoon, is a flowering plant found in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

ern United States and

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

s surrounding the Great Lakes.United States Department of Agriculture
/ref> The plant grows in sandhills,

pine barren Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barren ...

s, and dry, sandy woods.Plants for a Future
/ref>

Description

Dr. Robert W. Poole and Dr. Patricia Gentili describe the hairy puccoon as follows:

Flowers large (up to 1 inch in diameter) yellow-orange with 5 petals and basal parts of petals fused into a long corolla tube. Stamens hidden in corolla tube. Flowers arranged in a flat-topped cluster or weakly curled, short sprays. Stem and leaves coarsely hairy. Leaves broadest in the middle, tapering at either end, and outer margin smooth. Plant 1 to 2.5 feet in height.

Cultivation and uses

To cultivate ''Lithospermum caroliniense'' a warm sunny position in a moderately fertile well-drained lime-free sandy soil is needed. A red dye is obtained from the dried or pulverized

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s. The powdered root has also been used in the treatment of chest wounds.

References

caroliniense Plant dyes Flora of Michigan Flora of North America Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asterid-stub