OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Dioscoreales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aletris farinosa   FAMILY Nartheciaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aletris farinosa   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Aletris farinosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Aletris farinosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-20-003:

Aletris farinosa   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Aletris farinosa

 

COMMON NAME:
Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_alfa2_001_lvd

        

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Alan S. Weakley    asw_1313559086258266

May        NC

Roadside

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Alan S. Weakley    asw_564855539064593

May        NC

Roadside

Perianth constricted just below the lobes; lobes lanceolate, spreading, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm0505u_26

May    Williamsburg County    SC

Whitish flowers in a stiff, spikelike raceme 4-12" long, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm090516_029

May        

Francis Marion National Forest

Outer surface of perianth finely covered with blunt projections, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)..

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm120525_504

May    Oconee County    SC

A close-set cluster of yellowish-green lance-shaped 2-5" basal leaves, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Steve Marlow    snm090516_063

May    Charleston County    SC

Francis Marion National Forest

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm0406k_18

June    Oconee County    SC

The only species of the genus not restricted (or very nearly so) to the Coastal Plain, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm0506i_22

June    Oconee County    SC

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm090613_012

June    Greenville County    SC

Ashmore Heritage Preserve

Pollinator at work.

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm090613_016

June        

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm120623_095

June    Greenville County    SC

Ashmore Heritage Preserve

Fruit a 3-chambered capsule, tapered to a long beak, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_a_farinosa_colicroot2

June    Floyd County    GA

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Ron Lance    rwl_20220617_112214

June    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Ron Lance    rwl_20220617_112307

June    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Ron Lance    rwl_20220617_112411

June    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm231024_6190

October    Oconee County    SC

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

JK Marlow    jkm151108_659

November    Oconee County    SC

image of Aletris farinosa, Northern White Colicroot, Mealy Colicroot, Stargrass

Sharleen Johnson    shj_1295576057842445

December    Charleston County    SC

Francis Marion National Forest

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aletris farinosa   FAMILY Nartheciaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aletris farinosa   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Aletris farinosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Aletris farinosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-20-003:
Aletris farinosa   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aletris farinosa

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

47

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: pine savannas, pine flatwoods, seepage bogs, mafic fens and barrens, upland hardpan woodlands and savannas, roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (uncommon in Coastal Plain of GA & SC)

map
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
Mostly basal

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals, connate basally
6 stamens
Ovary partly superior
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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