Flora of North America species comparison

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Veratrum insolitum

Veratrum fimbriatum

Siskiyou false-hellebore, Siskiyou wild hellebore

fringe cornlily, fringe false-hellebore
Stems

1–1.5 m, grayish-hairy distally.

1–2 m, densely tomentose distally.
Leaves

blades elliptic, distal lanceolate, 10–35 × 7–21 cm, reduced distally, grayish-hairy, at least when young.

elliptic-lanceolate, reduced distally, 20–50 × 10–25 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy.
Inflorescences

paniculate, with ascending branches, 20–50 cm, grayish-hairy;

bracts ovate to lanceolate, shorter than flowers.

paniculate, with spreading to ascending branches, 30–50 cm, densely tomentose;

bracts ovate to ovate-lanceolate, shorter than flowers.
Capsules

oblong-ovoid, 2–3 cm, densely tomentose.

oblong-ovoid, 8–10 mm, glabrous.
Seeds

flat, broadly winged, 10–15 mm.

± globose, wingless, 5–7 mm.
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.

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.
2n

= 32.

= 32.

Veratrum insolitum

Veratrum fimbriatum
Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering summer–early fall.
Habitat Stream banks, moist meadows, mixed-evergreen forest margins Wet meadows in coastal scrub
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

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.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 74. FNA vol. 26, p. 74.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Veratrum Liliaceae > Veratrum
Sibling taxa
V. album, V. californicum, V. fimbriatum, V. viride
V. album, V. californicum, V. insolitum, V. viride
Name authority Jepson: Fl. Calif. 1: 266. (1921) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 391. (1868)
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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