Uvularia perfoliata

Uvularia perfoliata, the perfoliate bellwort, is a perennial forb native to the eastern United States and Canada,^[2] which produces pale yellow flowers in spring.

Perfoliate bellwort
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Colchicaceae
Genus:	Uvularia
Species:	U. perfoliata
Binomial name
Uvularia perfoliata L.
Synonyms[1]
Erythronium carolinianum J.F.Gmel. Uvularia caroliniana (J.F.Gmel.) Wilbur Uvularia flava Sm. Anonymos pudica Walter Uvularia perfoliata var. minor Michx. Uvularia perfoliata var. major Michx. Erythronium americanum f. carolinianum (J.F.Gmel.) Voss Uvularia pudica Fernald

Description

Botanical illustration of Uvularia perfoliata (1913)

The smooth slender stem of Uvularia perfoliata is 15 to 50 centimeters tall, and forked above the middle. The leaves are obovate, 4 to 12 centimeters long and 1.5 to 4 centimeters wide, glabrous or glaucous, and perfoliate. There are usually 1 to 4 leaves below the fork in the stem. The stems bear a single downward drooping flower with six 2 to 3.5 centimeter long tepals which are granular on the inside. The fruit is a triangular three lobed capsule 7 to 13 millimeters in length.^[3][4][5]

Distribution and habitat

Uvularia perfoliata is widely distributed in the eastern and southern United States from Texas to New Hampshire, plus the Canadian province of Ontario. It is listed as an endangered species by the states of Indiana and New Hampshire.^[2] In Virginia, it grows in habitats such as floodplain forests, but also mesic upland forests, and dry rocky woodlands.^[6] The presence of this species is dependent on appropriate habitat, and it may be eliminated from an area by development, changes in land use, or competition with invasive species.

Taxonomy

This species is a member of the genus Uvularia, which was formerly placed in the family Liliaceae, but has more recently been placed in the family Colchicaceae, in keeping with the findings of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group.^[7]

References

1. "Uvularia perfoliata". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved January 26, 2014 – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Uvularia perfoliata​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
3. Britton, Nathaniel Lord & Brown, Addison (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions: From Newfoundland to the Parallel of the Southern Boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean Westward to the 102d Meridian, Volume 1., p. 518. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
4. "Uvularia perfoliata (perfoliate bellwort)". Go Botany. New England Wildflower Society. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
5. Utech, Frederick H.; Kawano, Shoichi (2002). "Uvularia perfoliata". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved February 9, 2014 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
6. "Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Uvularia perfoliata L." Retrieved January 26, 2014. Virginia Botanical Associates. (2014). Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www.vaplantatlas.org). c/o Virginia Botanical Associates, Blacksburg.
7. Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. 2003. An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141:399-436., cited in Walter Fertig "Farewell to the Aceraceae: Changes in the Angiosperm Family Tree" (PDF). Retrieved February 9, 2014. The University of Montana Herbarium Newsletter. (Spring 2011). University of Montana, Missoula, MT. http://herbarium.dbs.umt.edu Archived 2014-03-06 at the Wayback Machine