Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Medeola virginiana
FAMILY
Liliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Medeola from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Medeola virginiana
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Medeola virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Medeola virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-04-001:
Medeola virginiana FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Medeola virginiana
COMMON NAME:
Indian Cucumber-root
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm230322_1919
March Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm230322_1920
March Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm230322_1924
March Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0404t_31
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm130420_463
April Transylvania County NC
Foothills Trail
Tapered, white, tuberlike, horizontal rhizomes, 3-8 x 1cm, per Flora of North America.
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmvirginiana_chauga1
April Oconee County SC
Chau-Ram County Park
Leaves parallel-veined, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmvirginiana_chauga3
April Oconee County SC
Chau-Ram County Park
Yellow-green flwrs w 6 recurved petal-like structures & 3 long brown stigmas, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmvirginiana_chauga4
April Oconee County SC
Chau-Ram County Park
Flowering plants have a second whorl of 3 smaller leaves, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
COMPARE
leaves of Indian Cucumberroot, Starry Campion, Whorled Coreopsis and Loosestrife
)
JK Marlow jkm0305c_04
May Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Vegetative plants have a single whorl of 5-11 leaves, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
COMPARE
Large and Small Whorled Pogonia and Indian Cucumber-root
)
Keith Bradley kab_m_virginiana_8067
May Burke County NC
The sepals, petals, and stigmas of the flowers are recurved, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_605
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
Keith Bradley kab_m_virginiana_0608
June Burke County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Grandfather Ranger District
)
Tim Spira tpsmvirginiana_flwsfrts
June
In fruit the pedicels are erect - the fruits above the top whorl, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120830_171
August Henderson County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
When in fruit, the terminal whorl of leaves is usually red at the base, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm080924_131
September Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Medeola virginiana
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Medeola virginiana
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Medeola virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Medeola virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-04-001:
Medeola virginiana
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Medeola virginiana
921
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, usually with acidic soils, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains & NC Piedmont (rare in GA Coastal Plain) (uncommon elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
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
Whorled
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellowish
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
6 caducous tepals
6 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black/Bluish-black
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p147
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p060
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p161
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p352
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p405
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p271
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p139
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p023
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p391
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p363
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p419
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p402
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p011
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p137