This native biennial has hairy stems and grows to 2 feet tall. Large, alternate, hairy, roughly triangular leaves are deeply divided into 5-9 lobes (C). Clusters of tubular pale blue to purple flowers with 5 spreading lobes and 5 prominent stamens rise above the leaves (A,B).
Found in moist woodlands, flowering in May and June. At Neale Woods, it is common in the ravines of lower Bittersweet, Settler’s and Columbine Trails. It does not occur at Fontenelle Forest. In fact, in Nebraska it is known to occur only in northern Douglas and southern Washington counties, the two counties in which Neale Woods is located.
The lobed, hairier, maple-like leaves, and more open flowers with shorter, less prominent stamens, differentiate this plant from closely related Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum).
Other common names include Notchbract and Appendiculated Waterleaf.
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