Stem 5-10 dm, beset with scattered linear bracts 3-20 mm; lvs narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate, 8-20 cm, acuminate; raceme 1-2 dm, its bracts linear or clavate; fls white, tubular, 8-10 mm, the perianth-lobes narrowly triangular, 2-2.5 mm; ovary ca a third inferior, the lower part becoming obscurely 3-lobed and slightly gibbous in fr, the upper part becoming round-ovoid; seeds 0.7 mm; 2n=26. Sandy soil, open woods, and barrens; s. Me. to Fla., w. to Minn. and Tex. June, July.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.