In early summer, the most conspicuous and long lasting flower in the sunny xeric sand prairies is the Hairy Puccoon. The flowers are commonly used by the larger butterflies and moths. The genus name Lithospermum means stone seed, a reference to the large white and hard seeds. Apparently the seeds can remain dormant in the ground for quite a long time, as it is not unusual to see this species quickly recolonizing a sandy lawn area when mowing is ceased.

The photo on this page is a close up view of the buttery yellow tubular flowers. To see a large image (92k) of an outstanding specimen of this plant, click on the "more" triangle at the bottom of this page.