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Chrysosplenium americanum - (image 1 of 4)

Taxonomy

Family: Saxifragaceae

Habitat

Springy or muddy soil, or on wet rocks, usually in shade.

Associates

Distribution

Quebec and Ontario to Saskatchewan, south to VA, KY, and IN.

Morphology

Herbaceous perennial; stems decumbent, branched, 5-20 cm; leaves all short-petiolate, the lower opposite, the upper alternate, ovate to rotund, 5-15 mm, entire or irregularly crenate; flowers solitary at the end of branches, 4-5 mm wide, the ovate sepals greenish-yellow or greenish-red or green marked with brown-purple, the disk red or brown-purple or green; petals absent; stamens mostly 8, the anthers bright red.

Notes

Flowers April to May

Wetland indicator: OBL

Supposedly edible but rather bitter and unpalatable.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

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