Zigadenus venenosus
Zigadenus densus
grass-leaf death-camas, meadow death-camas
black snakeroot, crow poison, Osceola's plume, pine-barren death camas
proximal blades 12–50 cm × 2–10 mm.
proximal blades 10–50 cm × 2–12 mm.
racemose or paniculate with 1 or 2 basal branches, 10–50-flowered, terminal raceme pyramidal in anthesis, 2–20 × 2–5 cm, branches (if any) 1/10–1/3 length of entire inflorescence, diverging from main axis at 10°–60° when in fruit.
racemose or paniculate, 40–100-flowered, cylindrical, 4–15 × 2.5–5 cm.
perianth hypogynous, campanulate, 5–10 mm diam.;
tepals persistent in fruit, cream colored, 2–5 × 1–3 mm, outer often clawed, apex usually acute;
gland 1, obovate, distal margins evident to obscure, irregular;
filaments straight, usually equaling tepals, occasionally longer, thickened proximally;
pedicel usually ascending in fruit, occasionally perpendicular to stem, 3–25 mm, bracts usually green, sometimes white, 5–25 mm.
perianth hypogynous, 5–10 mm diam.;
tepals persistent in fruit, cream colored to greenish, ovate to elliptic, 3–5 mm, narrowed but not sharply contracted basally;
gland 1, obscure;
pedicel 1–2 cm, bracts often tinged with red, lanceolate, 2–12 mm.
8–20 × 4–7 mm.
narrowly conic, 10–20 mm.
= 22.
Zigadenus venenosus
Zigadenus densus
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Zigadenus venenosus is a smaller, more slender plant than either Z. paniculatus or Z. fontanus. It can be distinguished from Z. micranthus by its ascending pedicels. It has a much broader distribution than either Z. micranthus or Z. fontanus, and does not occur on serpentine substrates.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
As treated here, Zigadenus densus includes Z. leimanthoides (W. W. McDearman 1984). These two entities are distinct in some parts of the range, but intergrade in size, inflorescence morphology, and flowering time in the Gulf coast region. The size of the plant (determined by age and environment) seems to affect inflorecence morphology, smaller plants bearing simple racemes and larger plants developing compound ones. Plants in more mountainous habitats develop paniculate inflorescences. Recognition of the two taxa at the varietal level may eventually be desirable.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Outer tepals usually clawed ca. 5 mm; inflorescences mostly racemose, occasionally paniculate with 1 basal branch. | var. venenosus |
1. Outer tepals not clawed, or clawed less than 5 mm; inflorescences mostly paniculate with 1–2 basal branches, occasionally racemose. | var. gramineus |
BC
PNW Herbaria
Turner Photog.
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
LA Plants
