FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Stems are mostly unbranched; leaves have a prominent white midvein. Difficult to positively identify without flowers, which appear in late summer. Usually grows in small colonies.
Synonym(s): Chelone chlorantha, Chelone montana
Description: Leafy unbranched plant with stems to 0.75 m tall and tipped in late summer with spikes of white or white-rose flowers, shaped like turtle heads.
Leaves: Lanceolate, serrated leaves are dark green with a prominent light center vein. Leaves can be 13 cm long but only 2.5 cm wide.
Flowers/Fruit: White hooded flowers in a spike or cluster at tip of stem. Fruits are a cluster of brown capsules. Flowers August to October; fruits September to November.
Habit and Range: Found statewide in shaded swamp forests, seeps, around wooded pools, and along stream banks.
