Veratrum fimbriatum
Veratrum
fringe cornlily, fringe false-hellebore
corn-lily, false-hellebore, skunk-cabbage, varaire, vérâtre
1–2 m, densely tomentose distally.
erect, simple, hollow, robust, basally thickened, leafy.
elliptic-lanceolate, reduced distally, 20–50 × 10–25 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy.
alternate, simple, strongly veined, narrowly to broadly orbicular, often plicate, reduced upwards, narrowed into closed, tubular, often overlapping sheaths.
paniculate, with spreading to ascending branches, 30–50 cm, densely tomentose;
bracts ovate to ovate-lanceolate, shorter than flowers.
compound-racemose or large terminal-paniculate, bracteate, pubescent.
bisexual or some proximal ones staminate;
perianth perigynous, rotate to ± campanulate, with hypanthium fused to base of ovary;
tepals persistent, 6, spreading to erect, distinct to weakly connate basally, off-white, green, yellow, or purple, petaloid, not clawed, equal to subequal, margins entire or erose-fimbriate;
glands 1–2, basal, on adaxial surface, V-shaped over midrib or marginal pair;
stamens 6, perigynous;
filaments distinct, filiform;
anthers persistent, 1-locular with confluent thecae, cordate-reniform, dehiscence apical/valvate;
ovary superior or partly inferior, 3-locular;
styles 3, erect to divergent, distinct, short;
stigmas elongate, extending down inner style surfaces.
capsular, deeply 3-lobed, style beaks persistent, dehiscence septicidal.
oblong-ovoid, 8–10 mm, glabrous.
± globose, wingless, 5–7 mm.
ellipsoid to fusiform, flat, broadly winged (± globose with wings reduced to basal ridges in V. fimbriatum).
white, rhomboid-ovate to ovate, not clawed, 6–9 mm, margins ± deeply and irregularly fimbriate;
glands 2, basal, ± mid tepal, yellow, elliptic;
ovary glabrous;
pedicel 6–12 mm.
= 8.
= 32.
Veratrum fimbriatum
Veratrum
This showy Veratrum species differs from others in its fragrant flowers with deeply fringed tepals, wingless seeds, and auxiliary bulbs in the lower leaf sheaths, and is restricted as a paleo-endemic to a 96-km coastal stretch of Sonoma and Mendocino counties (C. A. Taylor 1956, 1956b).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species 25–30 (5 in the flora).
The number of Veratrum species depends on the taxonomic treatment of four wide-ranging species complexes, three of which are entirely or mainly Eurasian (V. album, V. nigrum Linnaeus, and V. maackii Regel) and one North American (V. viride) (O. Loesener 1926, 1927, 1928; B. Mathew 1989; J. H. Zimmerman 1958). The Asian species have been variously circumscribed (Chen S. C. and H. Takahashi 2000; H. Kato et al. 1996; T. Nakai 1937, 1937b; N. S. Lee 1985, 1985b). Generic size further depends on inclusion or not of the closely related Melanthium (J. D. Ambrose 1975, 1980; P. Goldblatt 1995; M. N. Tamura 1998; W. B. Zomlefer 1997b), here treated as a separate genus.
The medicinal/poisonous properties of Veratrum involve a complex of cerveratrum and jerveratrum alkaloids, some with proven hypotensive properties and others that are highly toxic to humans and livestock (S. M. Kupchan et al. 1961; A. Osol et al. 1960; I. W. Southon and J. Buckingham 1989). Veraloid, a standard mixture of the most hypotensive Veratrum alkaloids, was widely prescribed until late in the nineteenth century, when emetic side effects greatly curtailed its use. The types and concentrations of alkaloids vary with the species, plant part, and season (C. A. Taylor 1956, 1956b).
Several Veratrum species are occasionally cultivated surrounded by low-growing plants for their architectural appeal in mesic or bog gardens. Century-old plants grow from the long-lived rhizome-bulb.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Ovary and fruit densely tomentose; tepal margins (at least inner) irregularly and shallowly fringed. | V. insolitum |
1. Ovary and fruit glabrous or sparsely pubescent with few ± straight hairs; tepal margins entire to deeply fringed. | → 2 |
2. Tepal margins deeply fimbriate; seeds ± globose, wingless; coastal n California. | V. fimbriatum |
2. Tepal margins entire to finely erose-dentate; seeds flattened, winged; widespread. | → 3 |
3. Tepals green to yellowish green; inflorescence branches drooping or, if spreading to ascending; from east of 85th meridian. | V. viride |
3. Tepals whitish to yellowish green; inflorescence branches spreading to ascending; west of 104th meridian. | → 4 |
4. Stems 1–2.5 m, inflorescences freely branching; south of 50th parallel. | V. californicum |
4. Stems 0.3–1 m, inflorescences spiciform-racemose or few-branched proximally; Seward Peninsula, adjacent Alaska, w Aleutian Islands. | V. album |
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
WA
