Veratrum californicum
Veratrum californicum var. californicum
California corn lily, California false hellebore, Californian false hellebore, false-hellebore
California corn lily, California false-hellebore, California wild hellebore, skunk cabbage
1–2.5 m, ± glabrous proximally, tomentose distally.
ovate, distalmost lanceolate to lance-linear, 20–40 × 15–25 cm, reduced distally, tomentose-ciliate, curly-hairy abaxially, glabrous or veins sparsely short-hairy adaxially.
dense-paniculate, with spreading to stiffly erect branches to near tip or distal 1/3–1/2 unbranched, 30–70 cm, tomentose;
bracts ovate-elliptic to lanceolate, shorter than to obviously longer than flowers.
narrowly ovoid, 2–3 cm, glabrous.
flat, winged, 10–12 mm.
creamy white, greenish basally, lanceolate to elliptic or oblong-ovate, not or very slightly clawed, 8–17 mm, margins entire to denticulate, glabrous to abaxially tomentose;
gland 1, basal, green, V-shaped;
ovary glabrous or with few hairs;
pedicel 1–6 mm.
elliptic to oblong-ovate, 8–15 mm.
usually branched nearly to tip, ± loosely flowered;
bracts in unbranched portion ovate-elliptic, mostly less than 1 cm, shorter than flowers.
= 32.
Veratrum californicum
Veratrum californicum var. californicum
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Different geographic elements of Veratrum californicum have been described as separate species or varieties. The variation seems to be clinal, with most variants not consistent in their appearance or distribution. We have recognized two varieties that appear to be fairly consistent in their distributions and characteristics.
Western Native Americans (Blackfeet, Paiute, Shoshone, Thompson, and Washoe) used this species as an antirheumatic, poison, contraceptive, and emetic, as well as a skin, respiratory, blood, cold, snake bite, throat, and toothache aid (D. E. Moerman 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Smaller-flowered plants from Colorado and New Mexico have been called Veratrum tenuipetalum; except for flower size, which is at the lower end of the species range, these plants are congruent with V. californicum var. californicum.
N. Chiariello et al. (1980), using the snow-bank-emergent characteristics of Veratrum californicum, documented that the plants differing in open versus closed bud morphologies also have different leaf areas, internal temperatures, and rates of early expansion growth. These differences in life-history characteristics are inferentially similar to those of other alpine and northern Veratrum species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Panicle branched more than 2/3 length of tip; bracts in unbranched portion ovate-elliptic, seldom exceeding flowers. | var. californicum |
1. Panicle unbranched in distal 1/3–1/2; bracts in proximal unbranched portion lanceolate, frequently 2–3 times longer than flowers. | var. caudatum |
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CA
SW CO Wildflowers
