Smooth False Foxglove (Aureolaria laevigata)

A cluster of yellow, funnel-shaped flowers atop a smooth stem.

The members of this group of plants are semi-parasitic on the roots of oaks and usually turn black when dried as herbarium specimens. Northern False Foxglove (A. flava) is very similar but has pinnately lobed leaves; it is found from Ontario east to Maine and south to Florida and Texas.

Aureolaria species are also known as "oak leeches." They are native annual or perennial herbs and are partly parasitic on the roots of native oak trees.