A perennial herb, growing to 3-8 feet tall. Stem erect, covered with fine star-like pubescence or nearly glabrous. Leaves alternate, simple, lanceolate to ovate, to 9 inches long, 1.25 to 3.5 inches wide, (about 2.5 times as long as wide), unlobed or middle and lower blades obscurely lobed; upper surface dark green, glabrous; lower surface covered with fine star-like pubescence; margins coarsely to shallowly toothed; bases rounded to nearly heart-shaped; tips tapering to points; stalks slender, up to 2 inches long. Inflorescence, solitary flowers in leaf axils; flower stalks jointed near or above the middle, fused to the subtending leaf stalk for a portion of their length; calyx subtended by 8-12 bracts; sepals more or less united; corolla 4-8 inches wide; petals 5, white or cream-colored with red or purple bases; stamen column about .75 inch thick, bearing anthers along the sides; style about 2.5 inch long. Capsule, egg-shaped, around 1 inch long, mostly glabrous, tapering to an erect beak, enclosed by the enlarged, persistent calyx.

Demulcent and emollient (leaves and roots)

Kansas Wildflowers And Grasses
Plant For A Future