Unidentified Plant

Hi--thought some of you might be interested to know that the mystery plant
has a name, Ipomopsis rubra, Standing Cypress. It turns out to be a native
plant, although not native to Indiana, and I quote below from an e-mail
from a friend and wildflower expert. It's a neat looking plant! I was
surprised to see that it's a member of the phlox family.

Bobbi Diehl
Bloomington, IN
zone 5/6

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Charles Deam calls it Ipomopsis rubra and this is what is written in his
Flora:  "Ipomopsis rubra (L.) Wherry.) (Bartonia 18: 56. 2936)  (Gilia
rubra (L.)  Heller.) Standing Cypress.  Map 1690. In my herbarium there is
a specimen from Cass County and there are specimens from two places in
Starke County.  Four of the specimens I have seen are from sandy roadside
knolls and one I collected was on a cleared sand hill in a large black oak
woods about a mile south of Koontz Lake, Sarke County. It has escaped in
the vicinity of Morocco, Newton County. This plant is biennial and I
highly recommend it for ornamental planting. It has sown itself in our
garden for many years.  South Dakota to Arkansas, southwest to Florida and
Texas; naturalized northwest and eastward.

--- so that is the word from Deam. From that, I would assume that it has
naturalized here and is actually not a native of Indiana. It is not listed
in either Jackson's Natural Heritage book or in Swink's Plants of the
Chicago Region. I will try to learn more from Becky Dolan, head of the
Butler Herbarium. In the meantime, it is definitely a beautiful plant and
according to Deam is also garden-worthy. So enjoy it. And yes, I would
love some starts if anyone has them to offer.
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