large-flowered bellwort

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Large-flowered bellwort is a 8″ to 20″ tall, erect, herbaceous perennial rising on one to several stems from a short, slender rhizome with clustered, fleshy roots. It often forms colonies.

The stems are 8″ to 20″ tall, rounded, forked once or twice above the middle, and have sheathing bracts at the base. They are light green or reddish-green, hairless, are covered with a whitish, waxy coating (glaucous). On young, flowering plants the stem is usually unforked and the upper stem nods under the weight of the leaves and flowers. On mature, fruiting plants the stems are forked once or twice and are reclining. There is usually just a single leaf below the fork of the stem. One branch is sterile and has 4 to 8 leaves, one branch is fertile and has several leaves and 1 to 3 flowers.

The leaves are alternate, untoothed, 2⅓″ to 5⅓″ long and ¾″ to 2″ wide, oval to oblong egg-shaped, with a pointed tip and a rounded base. Near the base the leaf entirely surrounds the stem, giving the appearance that the stem is growing through the leaf (perfoliate). The upper surface of the leaf is hairless and bright green to bluish-green. They have 3 to 5 prominent, parallel veins. On the underside of the leaf the veins are covered with minute white hairs. On young plants the leaves are soft, drooping, and somewhat rolled. On mature plants the leaves are firm and are held horizontally.

The inflorescence is 1 to 3 flowers at the end of a flowering branch. They may appear to be born in a leaf axil, since the forked stem on which they are borne ends abruptly after forking.

The flowers are bell-shaped, 1″ to 2″ long, elongated, slightly twisted, nodding and slightly fragrant. They are borne on ⅜″ to 1″ long flower stalks and are subtended with a single bract. There are 6 yellow overlapping tepals. The interior surface of the tepals are hairless.

The fruit is a 3-celled, greenish to yellowish-brown, ⅜″ to ⅔″ long, ⅜″ to ¾″ wide capsule. The capsule is egg-shaped to pyramid-shaped, with a rounded tip, 3 well-rounded lobes, and 2 beaks on each lobe. Each cell contains several seeds.

8″ to 20″

Yellow

Common false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum var. racemosum), hairy Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum pubescens), rose twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus var. roseus), and smooth Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum) all have similar leaf shape and plant form. None have perfoliate leaves.

Wild oats (Uvularia sessilifolia) is a shorter plant, 4″ to 12″ tall. The leaves are smaller, 1½″ to 2½″ long and ⅔″ to 1¼″ wide. They attach to the stem without a stalk (sessile) but do not wrap around the stem at their base. The flowers are cream to pale straw-yellow, and smaller, ½″ to 1″ long. There is only 1 flower per stem. The seed capsules are sharply lobed and longer, ⅔″ to 1⅛″ long.

Dry to moist. Rich woods, forests.

April to May

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

Native

Common

Flower

Leaves

Plant in Fruit

Infructescence

Location: Nerstrand Big Woods State Park