HYDROPHYLLACEAE WATERLEAF FAMILY 
VIRGINIA WATERLEAF 
Hydrophyllum virginianum L. 
The Waterleaf family is small and of no special importance 
aside from the beauty of its flowers and their value as forage 
for honeybees. The fruit is a dry 2-valved capsule, generally 
l-celled with 2 parietal 
placentas bearing 4 to 
many seeds. 
The Virginia Waterleaf 
is quite common in woods __ 
from Quebec to Ontario and @ 
South Dakota, south to 
Kansas and South Caro- 
lina. It is abundant on 
‘ 2 IY | 
moist soil at the foot of ZS Nf 
ZA 4 I Le, 
bluffs or in rich open woods 
throughout Illinois. 
The rather weak and 
slender stems grow 1-2% 
feet high and bear many 
clusters of flowers. The 
whole plant is smooth or 
nearly so with the excep- 
tion of the calyx, ovary and 
filaments, which are hairy. The leaves are similar to the one 
shown but the lower are larger, longer petioled and § or 7-lobed. 
This species begins blooming in May, often continuing to 
August. The flowers are white, pale violet or purple. The 
narrow calyx lobes are wide spreading or even reflexed, and the 
corolla lobes are erect. The capsule contains 1-4 nearly spherical 
seeds. 
The Large-leaved Waterleaf, Hydrophyllum macrophyllum Nutt., 
is somewhat more restricted in its distribution. It occurs from Vir- 
ginia to Ohio and southwest to Illinois, Tennessee and Alabama. 
It will not likely be found in northern Illinois but is not uncommon 
in the southern and central parts. The whole plant is very hairy. 
The rather stout stems are 2-3 feet high. Lower leaves are pinnately 
divided into 7-13 coarsely toothed segments, and the upper are 
similar but smaller. The flowers, produced in May and June, are 
like those of the Virginia Waterleaf. 
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