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Plant of the Week
Indian Pink, Pinkroot
Latin: Spigelia marilandica
Choosing the most beautiful blossom in the plant world is a fruitless chore,
but if one were to do so, the native wildflower Indian Pink would probably rank
high on the top ten list. At least it would on mine because I have a well
developed gaudy streak. I love bright color contrasts.
Indian Pinks are bright red on the outside and creamy yellow on the inside, a
contrast that would have caused garden classicists such as Gertrude Jekyll to
shutter at the thought of using such an abomination.
Indian Pink is native from New Jersey and through the southeastern states to
Texas. It’s a member of the Loganiaceae family, a rather heterogeneous family
that includes such plants as the semi-woody shrub Buddleia from China
and the vining yellow jessamine (Gelsemium) from the eastern states.
Indian Pink grows to about 2 feet tall with sessile, opposite leaves whose
margins can reach up to 4 inches in length.
The showy flowers appear in mid-summer in a one-sided terminal inflorescence
called a cyme. The six to 10 red and yellow flowers point upward. The basal
flower opening first, with each succeeding bloom smaller and less developed than
its neighbor on the downhill side of the cyme. Individual blooms are to 2 inches
long, tubular with five star-shaped terminal lobes pointed outward at the end of
the tube. The fruit is a small, inconspicuous capsule enclosed in the calyx.
The genus name was given by Linnaeus and honors Adrian van der Spigel, a
Brussels doctor who wrote a text in 1606 detailing the procedure for developing
an herbarium to preserve dried plants.
An obsolete name for Spigelia is "wormgrass," so-called because a tincture
prepared from the pink roots was used to rid humans of worms. All parts of the
plant are poisonous. Apparently the plant is still used in some herbal medicinal
preparations. Graphic descriptions of the effects of improperly administering
the herb on children can be found on the web.
My personal acquaintance with Indian Pink came from Elmira Love, a lady who grew
up on the prairies of Nebraska and knew and loved wildflowers. Mrs. Love taught
school for years, and then well into her 80s wrote a nature column for the
West Fork Observer in Washington County. Her Spigelia was her delight. She
would always make a point of showing it off when it was in bloom.
One day Mrs. Love called in distress. Some low-life had come into her garden,
dug up her plant and hauled it off. Such plant thievery is rare, but does occur
among even garden folk, who as a rule, are the salt of the earth.
Spigelia is available from the nursery trade, but you have to hunt to find it.
It can be propagated by cuttings with the slips taken in the spring as they
emerge. Care must be exercised to prevent them from rotting during the rooting
stage. Seed does not seem to be readily available in the trade.
Indian Pink is hardy throughout Arkansas and as far north as zone 5. It’s best
sited to well-drained, organic soil that receives good light but not direct sun.
The north or east side of a house makes a good location. Once established, the
plant will form a clump that will gradually get a foot or so across. Plants
should be watered during dry weather.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
August 11, 2000
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