Taxonomy
Family: Melanthiaceae
Habitat
Pine barrens and xeric oak-hickory woods.
Associates
Distribution
In dry sandy pine barrens of NJ, south occasionally to NC; disjunct in dry mountain woods of the southern Blue Ridge Mountains from VA to TN and GA.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial from a stout, caudex-like rhizome; stem erect, 0.8-1.5 m; basal leaves to 40 cm, about 2 cm wide, in a dense tuft, persistent; cauline leaves filiform, progressively reduced, the lower ones 10-15 cm; raceme 5-6 cm thick, compact at first, elongating to as much as 30 cm, the flowers opening first near the base and progressively distally; pedicels 3-4 cm, suberect at maturity; flowers whitish, 1 cm wide; fruit 5 mm.
Notes
Flowers June
Wetland indicator: NA
Rare in most states except NJ and VA. May have once occurred in KY but now considered extirpated from that state.
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
USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Michael Hough © 2018 |