Aletris farinosa

Aletris farinosa, called the unicorn root, true unicorn, crow-corn, white colic-root or white stargrass, is a plant species found across much of the eastern United States. It has also been reported from the southern part of Ontario, Canada. It is known from every state east of the Mississippi River except Vermont, as well as Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.^[2][3] Its native habitats include moist peaty, sandy or gravelly areas.^[4]

Aletris farinosa
Aletris farinosa in West Greenwich, Rhode Island
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Dioscoreales
Family:	Nartheciaceae
Genus:	Aletris
Species:	A. farinosa
Binomial name
Aletris farinosa L.
Synonyms[1]
Aletris alba Michx. Aletris lucida Raf.

Aletris farinosa is a perennial herb spreading by means of underground rhizomes and forming rosettes of leaves. Leaves are narrow, up to 20 cm long, bright yellowish-green. Flowering stalks can be as much as 100 cm tall. Flowers are white, up to 10 mm long. Fruit is a dry capsule tapering at the tip.^{[2][5][6][7][8]}

Gallery

• 
  Illustration by Sydenham Edwards^[9]
• 
  Inflorescence in Barnstable, Massachusetts
• 
  Leaves at the Asheville Botanical Gardens

References

1. The Plant list, Aletris farinosa
2. "Aletris farinosa in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
3. BONAP (Biota of North America Project), 2014 county distribution map, Aletris farinosa Image
4. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
5. von, Linné, Carl; Lars, Salvius (1753-01-01). "Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum". 1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. Gleason, H. A. & A.J. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (ed. 2) i–910. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.
7. Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles & C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas i–lxi, 1–1183. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
8. Voss, E. G. 1972. Gymnosperms and Monocots. i–xv, 1–488. In Michigan Flora. Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
9. 1811 illustration by Sydenham Edwards, published in Curtis's Botanical Magazine v. 34