Wild Guide: Hoary Puccoon (Orange Puccoon)

Hoary Puccoon (Orange Puccoon)

Lithospermum canescens

Status

Native

Size

Height: 6–12 inches

Distribution

Statewide, except lowlands of southeast Missouri

Hoary puccoon’s small, bright orange flowers appear from March through June, blooming on spirally condensed stalks that uncoil and elongate as more flowers open toward the tip. Each flower is tubular with five lobes. The hoary puccoon’s leaves, inconspicuous at flowering time, point upward and are very hairy.

Hoary puccoon is found in glades, savannas, upland and loess hill prairies, ledges and tops of bluffs, openings of moist upland forests, dry upland forests, and sometimes along edges of lakes. Also found in pastures, along railroads and roadsides, and in open, disturbed areas.

Ecosystem Connections

A wide variety of bees and butterflies harvest nectar from these showy flowers, pollinating them in the process.

Human Connections

There is poetry in the names of many wildflowers and hoary puccoon is no exception. “Hoary” means gray or white with age, and the leaves do offer a downy appearance. “Puccoon” is from the Powhatan/Virginia Algonquian word ”poughkone” and refers to plants that yield a purple, red, or yellow dye. Native American and Asian cultures have a history of using the red or purple dye made from the roots to color fabrics, as body decoration, and other uses.

Today, Missouri species of Lithospermum are mainly used as native garden flowers. Remember, never dig plants from natural habitats. Purchase them at reputable native plant nurseries.