UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Veratrum californicum

Veratrum insolitum

California false hellebore

siskiyou wild hellebore
Habit Tall perennial herbs from thick rhizomes, the simple stem glabrous below, 1.5-2 m. tall. Tall perennial herbs from thick rhizomes, the unbranched stems grey-wooly above, 10-17 dm. tall.
Leaves

Leaves numerous, alternate, cauline, ovate to broadly elliptic, 2-3 dm. long and over as broad, strongly sheathing at base, reduced upward.

Leaves numerous, alternate, cauline, oblong-elliptic, up to 23 cm. long and 12 cm. broad.
Flowers

Inflorescence a dense panicle, 3-6 dm. long, stiffly erect, the lower branches not drooping;

pedicels 1-3 mm. long;

perianth off-white to greenish tinged, saucer-shaped;

tepals 6, distinct, lanceolate to elliptic, broadly clawed at base, 10-17 mm. long, nearly entire and glabrous;

stamens 6, about as long as the tepals.

Inflorescence a diffusely-branched panicle 2-5 dm. long, comprised of numerous grey-wooly racemes;

pedicels 5-15 mm. long;

perianth yellowish-white, saucer-shaped;

tepals 6, distinct, broadly ovate, 6-9 mm. long, not clawed, somewhat fringed;

stamens 6, equal to the tepals.
Fruits

Capsule 2-3 cm. long, glabrous, narrowly ovoid, tipped with the persistent styles.

Capsule 2-3 cm. long, oblong-ovoid, woolly.

Veratrum californicum

Veratrum insolitum
Flowering time June-August July - September
Habitat Moist meadows and woodlands, lowlands to subalpine. Open prairies to thickets, and forested or open rocky slopes.
Distribution
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington south to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; south-central Washington to northern California.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Native Native
Conservation status Not of concern Endangered in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa
V. insolitum, V. viride
V. californicum, V. viride
Subordinate taxa
V. californicum var. californicum, V. californicum var. caudatum
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in UW Burke Herbarium yet, or it's listed under a synonym.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers