The Scarlet Toothcup can withstand and survive flash floods because of its height. ²

Ammannia coccinea is a species of flowering plant in the loosestrife family known by several common names, including valley redstem, scarlet toothcup, and purple ammannia. It is native to most of the contiguous United States, with the exception of the Pacific Northwest and New England. It is generally found in moist areas, such as riverbanks and pond margins. It is weedy in some areas. This is an annual herb growing erect to heights approaching one meter...

The Amannia Coccinea is a species of flowering plant that’s part of the Loosestrife family(1). This plant is known by several names like the Valley Redstem, the Scarlet Toothcup, and the Purple Ammannia(1). These flowers are mainly found in dense, moist areas like riverbanks, ponds, and in other weedy areas. Some people use these plants as annual herbs. Another fact is this flower is very native and hasn’t been introduced in any other country. these flowers bloom around the months of July and September and can grow to 8-24 inches tall. When it’s growing in water, the stem starts to get spongy(2).
Animals don’t interact with the plant because of the toxins that it creates in the urinary track and could cause kidney stones. This was tested on a rat to see if it would affect its urine and it did. Humans use this plant as “herbal Remedies”. People will ground them up and the fruit that’s inside them will cut them open and take the liquids out(3).

(1) https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=AMCO
(2) https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/np50011a021?journalCode=jnprdf
(3) https://www.jstor.org/stable/24334844?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Lee Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Lee Elliott
2. Adapted by tisdrn from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammannia_coccinea

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