Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clintonia borealis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Clintonia from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clintonia borealis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Clintonia borealis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-05-001:
Clintonia borealis FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Clintonia borealis
COMMON NAME:
Bluebead-lily, Clinton's Lily, Yellow Clintonia, Yellow Bead Lily
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_clbo3_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_clbo3_006_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_c_borealis_8233
May Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tepals dull yellow or greenish-yellow, somewhat spreading and ~ 2/3" long, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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Will Stuart wil_6037903909_c6bf79f3ea
May Avery County NC
Underground runners allow a single plant to comprise multiple rosettes, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
Will Stuart wil_6037904521_82d6567813
May Avery County NC
A short terminal raceme of 3-8 nodding, greenish-yellow flowers, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Tim Spira tps_cborealis5
June
2-5 dark green, glossy, basal leaves, the margins fringed with a few hairs, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Will Stuart wil_6038453806_d8391ed95e
August Avery County NC
Fruit a bright blue ovoid berry, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
Dena Hayworth den_091419_1612
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clintonia borealis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clintonia borealis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Clintonia borealis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-05-001:
Clintonia borealis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Clintonia borealis
348
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: spruce-fir forests, northern hardwood forests, less commonly in red oak forests, cool rocky seepages, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains (historically in GA, but not recently seen)
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow/ Yellowish-green
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
6 caducous tepals
Superior ovary
Flowers in a short terminal raceme
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Blue
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p068
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p338
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p273
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p165
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p024
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p389
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p356
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p411
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p352
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p009