Perennial herb 10 - 20 cm tall Leaves
: crowded, alternate, ascending, stalkless, small (1 - 2 cm long), lance-shaped to narrowly oblong, longer than wide, non-toothed, hairy. Flowers
: many, singly in leaf axils, mostly stalkless, blue, small (around 1 cm tall and wide), broadly funnel-shaped. Sepals
: five, about 0.5 cm long, narrowly lance-shaped, and covered with long soft hairs. Petals
: five, but fused into short funnel with very ends flaring and appearing wavy-edged. Stamens
: five, attached to inside top of petal tube. Pistil
: with one, two-chambered, superior ovary; two styles, each branching in two near the base; and ending in two pairs of linear stigmas (four total, one per style branch). Fruit
: two-chambered, four-valved, one- to two-seeded, egg-shaped capsules atop short, deflexed stalks. Stems
: several, erect or ascending, densely hairy, and arising from a central thick root.
Similar species: Evolvulus nuttallianus is unlike other members of the Convolvulaceae family in the Chicago Region because its flowers have two styles which each branch into two and each of those branches ends in a stigma, so there are four linear stigmas per flower. In addition, other members of the family tend to be much larger with larger flowers, and much larger, obviously stalked leaves.
Flowering: June to July
Habitat and ecology: Introduced from farther south and west, this species has only been reported in one locality near a gravel pit.
Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native
Notes: This plant is native to dry prairies and barrens south of the Chicago Region from southeast Tennessee, into the Ozark region of Missouri, and west into the Dakotas and Arizona.
Author: The Field Museum