Veronicastrum virginicum.en.wikipedia.org (Accessed 5/2014).

Veronicastrum virginicum is a perennial herb to 2 m tall, erect, unbranched except inflorescence. 

Leaves whorled 3-6, lance-shaped, sometimes hairy below, margin sharply, finely toothed, tip long-pointed, base tapered to stalk 1 cm long or less. 

Flowers white, 0.9 cm long, tubular, petal lobes 4, much shorter than tube, stamens 2, longer than petals, giving inflorescence a somewhat fuzzy, bottle-brush appearance; inflorescence of spikes at top of stem, 1-several, to 15 cm, densely flowered; blooms June-Aug. 

Fruit a narrow, elliptic, capsule to 0.5 cm long, opening by 4 slits to release numerous tiny seeds, persistent into winter (Levine 1995). 

Wetland status: FACU. 

Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent.

 Origin: Native. 

Habitat: Open woods.