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The reason for the common name is fairly obvious - the flowers look just like a turtle poking its head out of its shell. This wildflower grows in very damp, even wet conditions. I usually find it by streamsides, springs or under rock slope seeps. They grow to 3-4 feet tall. The flowers for this species (the most common in the mountains) are always pink-purple. The leaves are oval-shaped, opposite, ranging up to 6" in length with a rounded base and serrated edges. There are three other species of Turtlehead. There is Chelone cuthbertii, which looks very similar to this one but the flowers are "strongly 4-ranked". It's rather rare, growing in boggy wet areas in a few places of the high elevations. Then there's C.glabra, with white to pale purple flowers that grow in a more elongated stalk. It grows in patches around the mountains, but I have yet to see it. Finally, there's C. obliqua, which is also purple and grows in a compact spike. It grows in only a few places in both the mountains and the piedmont. If you find a turtlehead while you're hiking, it is most likelyl to be C. Lyonii, but if you really need to key them down, lyonii leaves are widest below the middle; obliqua leaves are widest at the middle and has a white staminode (a sterile, stamen-like structure; I know, that doesn't help much.). C.Cuthbertii is the only one where the leaves are sessile (no stems), and has a purple staminode.