''Trichostema dichotomum'', commonly known as forked bluecurls, is a flowering

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the mint family (Lamiaceae). The plant is found in the Midwestern and

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

, and the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Description

''Trichostema dichotomum'' is an annual herbaceous forb with opposite, simple

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

, and square, erect, hairy stems. The leaves are covered in hairs and are lightly sticky. The flowers are blue, borne in late summer, and fragrant. Each flower blooms only for half a day, opening in the morning and dropping its petals and stamens by the afternoon.

Ecology

This plant germinates early in the summer and grows in sunny, moderately dry, sandy areas, including sandhills, open woodlands, glades, and disturbed areas. It is an important nectar producer for bees, including '' Caupolicana electa'' and '' Dialictus placidensis''.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Trichostema dichotomum'' (forked bluecurls)
dichotomum Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Bahamas Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Lamiaceae-stub