Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Melanthium virginicum
FAMILY
Melanthiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Melanthium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Veratrum virginicum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Melanthium virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2015)
Veratrum virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Melanthium virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Melanthium virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-23-001:
Melanthium virginicum FAMILY Liliaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melanthium dispersum
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melanthium virginicum
COMMON NAME:
Virginia Bunchflower, Bog Bunchflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_mevi2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_mevi2_003_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm070528_108
May Laurens County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
Superficially quite similar to Zigadenus glaberrimus, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm070528_111
May Laurens County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
Stem pubescent, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Will Stuart wil_mvirginicum210619_917
June Jasper County MO
A concentrated mass of Virginia Bunchflower on a wet roadside in southwest Missouri.
)
Will Stuart wil_mvirginicum210619_926
June Jasper County MO
Stems up to 6' tall, branched at the top into a many-flowered inflorescence, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmelvirg_spartabog
June-July? Alleghaney County NC
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmvirginicum_2
June-July?
Tepal margins entire & planar or nearly so; tepal claw < 1/3 as long as blade, per Flora of North America.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Melanthium virginicum
FAMILY
Melanthiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Veratrum virginicum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Melanthium virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2015)
Veratrum virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Melanthium virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Melanthium virginicum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-23-001:
Melanthium virginicum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melanthium dispersum
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melanthium virginicum
2470
Forb
Perennial
Polygamous
Habitat: pine savannas, bogs, fens, seeps, wet seepage-fed forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in Mountains & Coastal Plain (rare in Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate (gradually reduced upward)
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish-white/ Cream
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals
6 stamens
Bisexual or staminate
Inflorescence a panicle
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p144
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p164
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p364
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p014
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p184
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