Page authors: Don Knoke, David Giblin
Vaccaria hispanica
cowcockle
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.

Habitat: Roadsides, railways, fields, and other disturbed, open areas.

Flowers: May-August

Origin: Introduced from Europe

Growth Duration: Annual

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Description:
General:

Glabrous, glaucous annual from a taproot, the stem usually simple, up to 8 dm. tall.

Leaves:

Leaves mostly cauline, opposite, entire, lanceolate or oblanceolate, sessile and auriculate, 4-9 cm. long and 0.5-3 cm. broad.

Flowers:

Flowers numerous in a flat-topped inflorescence; calyx tubular, 5-lobed, 10-14 mm. long, glabrous and purplish, much inflated and strongly 5-winged in fruit; petals 5, pink to red, the claw exceeding the calyx, the blade 5-8 mm. long, obovate with a wedge-shaped base and a slight notch.

Fruits:

Capsule 1-celled.

Accepted Name:
Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert
Publication: Feddes Repert. 73: 52. 1966.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
Saponaria vaccaria L.
Vaccaria segetalis (Necker) Garcke ex Asch. [HC]
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Vaccaria hispanica in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

WA Flora Checklist: Vaccaria hispanica checklist entry

OregonFlora: Vaccaria hispanica information

E-Flora BC: Vaccaria hispanica atlas page

CalPhotos: Vaccaria hispanica photos

26 photographs:
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