Stems 2-6 dm, glabrous or nearly so, usually much branched; lvs linear, 1-6 mm wide; pedicels filiform, widely divergent, 1-2 cm at anthesis; cal-tube 2-4 mm, its lobes broadly triangular to subulate, 0.3-2.2 mm; cor 1-1.5 cm, its upper lip arching over the stamens, glabrous within; pollen-sacs 1.5-2.2 mm; 2n=28. Que. to Minn., s. to Fla. and Tex. (A. besseyana)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
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Non-technical Description: Slender false-foxglove is a glabrous annual herb with multi-branched stems 20-50 cm tall. Stems are reddish to dark green when fresh, but turn black when dried in a plant press. Leaves are opposite, ascending, linear, entire, 3-7 cm long and 1-2 mm wide and often have clusters of smaller leaves in their axils. The inflorescence of 1-several racemes has 1-12 flowers. Bracts are leaf-like and progressively reduced upwards. The 5-lobed corolla is pink or purple, 10-15 mm long, slightly 2-lipped and funnel-shaped and glabrous with ciliate margins. Sepals are united into a 5-lobed calyx 3.5-5.5 mm long. Anthers are sparsely hairy, arranged in a straight line, and 1.5-2.2 mm long. Fruits are globe-shaped capsules 4-6 mm long (Great Plains Flora Association 1986).
Similar Species: Linaria canadensis has a blue, two-lipped corolla with a slender spur. Mimulus spp. have a strongly two-lipped corolla and flowers that are often yellow or pink-flowered (Dorn 2001).
Habitat: Found in moist woods and prairies along streams, lakeshores, and ditches (Great Plains Flora Association 1986).
References: Dorn, R.D. 2001. Vascular Plants of Wyoming, 3rd ed. Mountain West Publishing, Cheyenne, WY. 412 pp; Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. Univ. Kansas Press, Lawrence, KS; Pennell, F.W. 1929. Agalinis and allies in North America II. Proceedings Philadelphia Academy Natural Sciences 81:111-249.
Author: Walter Fertig, Moenave Botanical Consulting, Kanab, UT. April 2017.
This variety is a very common form of the species and is somewhat frequent throughout the state. It is found in both dry and moist habitats but is more common in moist places about lakes and on alluvial areas and banks of streams. It is also found on moderate slopes in woodland.
This variety is found in habitats similar to those of the preceding variety [var. macrophylla].
This species is probably found throughout the state although it may not be present in the dune area. Infrequent in the northern counties and frequent in the southern counties. With the exception of an intermediate form all of my specimens were found on white and black and white oak slopes and on chestnut oak ridges. The extreme variability of this species has led authors to divide it into species and varieties. The well known botanist, E. L. Greene, found a very wideleaf form near Ridgeville, Indiana, which he described as a new species. The forms seem to intergrade and are so perplexing that I have copied the section of Pennell's key to this species and its varieties and I have indicated my specimens on the maps as he has named them.
