About Gratiola brevifolia Raf.
Gratiola brevifolia, commonly known as sticky hedgehyssop, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it occurs with a scattered distribution. Its natural habitat consists of wet acidic locations, including sandy riverbanks, sandy pinelands, and cypress swamps. Gratiola brevifolia is a rhizomatous perennial plant. Its leaves are linear-lanceolate, with a small number of coarse teeth located toward their tips. Its flowers have white lobes, a yellow tube marked with brown lines, and bloom from April to September. This species is similar to Gratiola vicidula, a related plant whose range is centered further east than that of G. brevifolia. G. brevifolia can be told apart from G. vicidula by its narrower leaves and sepals. It is also similar to Gratiola ramosa, a species that grows alongside G. brevifolia on the Southeastern Coastal Plain. G. brevifolia can be distinguished from G. ramosa by the consistent presence of 1 to 2 bracts that grow just below its sepals.
