ROSACEAE ROSE FAMILY 



SOFT AGRIMONY 



Agrimonia mollis (T. & G.) Britton 



Various species of Agrimony were formerly gathered 

 every fall by country people and used for many purposes, 

 but especially as a substitute or additional flavoring 

 for tea. The leaves have 

 a spicy odor when crushed 

 and were thought to have 

 medicinal value. 



The Soft Agrimony is a 

 perennial branching herb 2-6 

 feet tall, with tuberous roots. 

 It grows in woods and thickets 

 from Massachusetts and North 

 Carolina to Michigan, Illinois 

 and Kansas, and blooms from 

 July to October. 



The alternate leaves are 

 peculiar in having pairs of 

 small leaf segments interposed 

 with larger leaflets. There are 

 usually 7 of the main leaflets, 

 as shown, but these may be 5- 

 1 1 , The stems are covered with 

 soft hairs and the leaves are 

 velvety, especially on the lower 

 surface. 



The small flowers have 5 yellow petals and 5-15 stamens 

 attached above the ovaries. The green calyx is 5-lobed and just 

 below the lobes are many hooked bristles which, persisting and 

 making a bur of the fruit, provide for its ready dispersal by 

 animals. There are 1 simple pistils and the fruit consists ot i or 

 1 akenes within the bur. 



The Common Agrimony, Agrimonia striata Michx., also occurs 

 in Illinois and is very similar but has fibrous instead of tuberous 

 roots, and its leaves are dotted with glands. It blooms about a 

 month earlier than the Soft Agrimony, in damp woods and alluvial 

 soil from Newfoundland to Saskatchewan and Nebraska, south to 

 West Virginia and New Mexico. 



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