Flora of North America species comparison

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Medeola

concombre sauvage, Indian cucumber, Indian cucumber-root, jarnotte
Habit Herbs, perennial, from tapered, white, tuberlike, horizontal rhizomes.
Stems

simple, slender.
Leaves

in 2 whorls;

proximal blades oblong-oblanceolate, base attenuate, margins entire, apex acuminate;

distal blades ovate, rounded at base, apex acuminate.
Inflorescences

terminal, umbellate, (2–)3–9-flowered, sessile.
Flowers

tepals caducous, 6, similar, recurved, distinct;

stamens 6;

anthers versatile, oblong, extrorse;

ovary superior, 3-locular;

styles 3, recurved, distinct to base, often purple;

pedicel declined or spreading in flower, erect in fruit.
Fruits

baccate, dark purple to black, globose.
Seeds

few, shiny brown, subglobose.
x

= 7.

Medeola
Distribution
from USDA
e North America
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 1.

Medeola was removed from its long association with Trillium and Paris (tribe Parideae) when A. L. Takhtajan (1987, 1997) created the monotypic Medeolaceae, placing it next to a strictly defined Liliaceae. M. N. Tamura (1998c) included Medeola and Clintonia in the tribe Medeoloideae within a narrowly defined Liliaceae. The association of Medeola and Clintonia is supported by molecular analysis (K. Hayashi et al. 1998, 2001; T. B. Patterson and T. J. Givnish 1998) as well as morphology (R. Y. Berg 1962; M. Takahashi 1984; F. H. Utech 1978e), embryology (R. Y. Berg 1962b), and cytology (R. M. Stewart and R. Bamford 1942; M. N. Tamura 1995).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 150. Author: Frederick H. Utech.
Parent taxa Liliaceae
Subordinate taxa
M. virginiana
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 339. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 158. (1754)
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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