Veratrum insolitum |
Veratrum album |
|
---|---|---|
Siskiyou false-hellebore, Siskiyou wild hellebore |
white false hellebore |
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Stems | 1–1.5 m, grayish-hairy distally. |
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Leaf | blades elliptic, distal lanceolate, 10–35 × 7–21 cm, reduced distally, grayish-hairy, at least when young. |
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Inflorescences | paniculate, with ascending branches, 20–50 cm, grayish-hairy; bracts ovate to lanceolate, shorter than flowers. |
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Capsules | oblong-ovoid, 2–3 cm, densely tomentose. |
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Seeds | flat, broadly winged, 10–15 mm. |
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Tepals | creamy white to yellow, broadly ovate, not clawed, 6–15 mm, margins strongly erose-ciliate or inner shallowly fimbriate; gland 1, basal, green, V-shaped, elliptic; ovary densely tomentose; pedicel 6–15 mm. |
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2n | = 32. |
|
Veratrum insolitum |
Veratrum album |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | |
Habitat | Stream banks, moist meadows, mixed-evergreen forest margins | |
Elevation | 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) | |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA
|
nw Alaska; Eurasia |
Discussion | The only other whitish-flowered species in North America, Veratrum californicum, which might be confused with V. insolitum, has entire, unfringed tepals, and only slightly hairy ovaries. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (1 in the flora). This is the only Veratrum species to occur in Europe, Asia, and North America, and it is probably more widespread in northwestern Alaska than reported. Veratrum album is highly variable in size, flower color, pedicel length, and hairiness, and it has an extensive synonymy in Eurasia. Within the species at large, a polyploid series that includes 4x, 9x, 10x, and 12x accompanies the complex variability among constituent populations (M. N. Tamura 1998). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 74. | FNA vol. 26, p. 76. |
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Veratrum | Liliaceae > Veratrum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Name authority | Jepson: Fl. Calif. 1: 266. (1921) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1044. (1753) |
Web links |
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