''Gratiola brevifolia'', commonly called sticky hedgehyssop, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the plantain family (

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family or veronica family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated ...

). It is found in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

, where it has a scattered distribution. Its natural habitat is in wet acidic areas. ''Gratiola brevifolia'' is a rhizomatous perennial. Its leaves are linear-lanceolate with a few coarse teeth distally. Its flowers have white lobes and a yellow tube with brown lines. It blooms from April to September. ''Gratiola brevifolia'' is similar to '' Gratiola vicidula'', which has a range centered farther to the east. ''G. brevifolia'' can be distinguished by its narrower leaves and sepals. It is also similar to ''

Gratiola ramosa ''Gratiola'' is a genus of plants in the family Plantaginaceae. Most species are known generally as hedgehyssops. It includes 29 species native to temperate North America and Eurasia, and to Morocco, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. The ...

'', a species that it co-occurs with on the Southeastern Coastal Plain, from which ''G. brevifolia'' can be distinguished by the regular presence of 1-2 bracts subtending the sepals.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15326235 brevifolia Flora of Northern America Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque