Flora of North America species comparison

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Aruncus dioicus

bride's feathers, buck's-beard, goat's-beard, sylvan goatsbeard
Leaves

leaflets green to gray-green, 6–15 cm, base subcordate to attenuate, apex acute to long-acuminate.
Flowers

sepals 1 mm;

petals 0.5–1.5 mm, apex acute to obtuse;

stamens 1.5–2 mm, filaments slender, ± equal, anthers versatile;

styles [0.2–]0.3–0.8 mm.
Seeds

1.5–2(–2.5) mm.

Aruncus dioicus
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; CA; CT; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; VA; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; NS; ON; QC; YT; Eurasia
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 14 (4 in the flora).

Aruncus dioicus is superficially similar to Astilbe biternata (Saxifragaceae), false goat’s-beard, which is endemic to the southern Appalachian Mountains. Both species produce tall, dioecious plants with biternately to bipinnately compound leaves and plumelike terminal panicles with many, relatively small white, unisexual flowers, and may grow side by side. Aruncus dioicus is more widespread and may be readily distinguished by its unlobed rather than 3-lobed terminal leaflets, flowers with 20 rather than 10 stamens, and 3 carpels reflexed in fruit rather than 2 erect carpels. See T. L. Mellichamp (1976) for an analysis of this remarkable example of convergent evolution.

Aruncus dioicus is striking and is grown in gardens throughout North America. It is variable throughout the temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, especially in China and Japan. H. Hara (1955) recognized the following varieties that are found in the flora area.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Follicles 1.5–2.4 mm; styles 0.3–0.8 mm; seeds 1.5–2 mm
→ 2
1. Follicles 2.5–5 mm; styles 0.3–0.5 mm; seeds 1.8–2.5 mm
→ 3
2. Follicles 1.5–2 mm; leaf surfaces glabrous or slightly hairy; s Appalachians and eastward.
var. dioicus
2. Follicles 1.6–2.4 mm; leaf surfaces densely hairy; w of Appalachians.
var. pubescens
3. Follicles 2.5–5 mm; Alaska and Yukon to n California.
var. acuminatus
3. Follicles 2.5–3 mm; introduced, ne United States.
var. vulgaris
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 423.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Spiraeeae > Aruncus
Subordinate taxa
A. dioicus var. acuminatus, A. dioicus var. dioicus, A. dioicus var. pubescens, A. dioicus var. vulgaris
Synonyms Actaea dioica
Name authority (Walter) Fernald: Rhodora 41: 423. (1939)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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