Red Turtlehead, Chelone lyoni Pursh, Naturalized Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Red Turtlehead	Chelone obliqua L.	Figwort	Woodland	Late Summer to Early Autumn
Other names and notes	Turtleheads have flowers where the upper lip arches over the lower lip giving the resemblance to a turtle's head. The Red Turtlehead flowers that are really deep pink are on a short spike above the lance shaped leaves; stems usually about 2 to 3 feet high. The center lobe of the lower flower lobes is bearded. The genus name, Chelone, is Greek for tortoise which then leads to the common name. These plants appear in a few places in the bog area and in a very large grouping near station 24. The reds greatly outnumber the White Turtlehead. See notes below on the history of this plant in the Garden.

Blooms above of late August


Above: Flower bud emerging.	Above: Leaf type	Above: Seeds stalks will remain through the winter for visual interest.

Notes: Eloise Butler brought in plants from a Mr. Rohl's garden in Minneapolis, 1931, to replace a stolen previous clump. These plants were Pink Turtlehead, Chelone lyoni Pursh. This plant was still listed on Martha Crone's 1951 inventory of plants in the Garden at that time and is a plant native to the Southeastern United States and in Minnesota is a garden escapee. The Red Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua L.) is considered native to Minnesota but distribution in the state is not well documented. It (Red Turtlehead) is on the threatened or endangered list is several states, Michigan, being the closest to us in Minnesota. Some of the plants in the Garden are reported by the Garden staff to be C. obliqua while other individuals have characteristics of both C. obliqua and C. lyoni on a single plant, undoubtedly due to hybridizing.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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