Cowcockle - Vaccaria hispanica
Other Names:
Saponaria vaccaria, Vaccaria pyramidata
Taprooted, glabrous and glaucous annual. Stems erect, 20–80 cm, branched above. Leaves mainly cauline, lanceolate to lance-ovate, 2–10 cm long, clasping the stem. Inflorescence a terminal, many-flowered, open, flat-topped cyme. Flowers: calyx glabrous, 12–15 mm long, becoming ovate and 5-angled; petals pink, clawed, the blade 5–8 mm long, shallowly 2-lobed; styles 2; stamens 10. Capsule oblong, shorter than the calyx tube (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).