Chamaelirium luteum — devil's bit

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Flower bract length

  0 mm

  Flower bracts

  there are no bracts associated with the flower

  Flower orientation

  the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward

  Flower petal color

  • white
  • yellow

  Flower petal length

  2–4 mm

  Flower shape

  the flower has a narrow corolla tube that abruptly widens at the end

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Form of style

  the style is narrow at the tip and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Hairs on flower stalk

  the flower stalk has no hairs on it

  Inflorescence hair glands

  the axis of the inflorescence has no hairs on it

  Inflorescence length

  15–350 mm

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)

  Inflorescence width

  10–15 mm

  Length of flower stalk

  0–5 mm

  Length of peduncle

  300–1300 mm

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  3

  Number of pistils

  3

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are six petals, sepals or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  3

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal base

  the petal narrows gradually or does not narrow at the base

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  2–4 mm

  Sepal orientation

  the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the plant

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Spathe length

  0 mm

  Stamen length

  2–4 mm

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamen types

  the stamens within a cycle are distinctly of two types

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are not fused to the petals or tepals

  Style length

  1.5–2 mm

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are similar in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Fruit beak length

  3.2–4 mm

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit length

  7–14 mm

  Fruit stalk orientation

  the fruits point upward or spread or curve outward

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)

  Fruit width

  5–6 mm

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  30–200 mm

  Leaf blade orientation

  the upper surface of the leaf blade faces the stem of the plant

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)
  • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
  • the leaf blade is spatulate (spoon-shaped; narrow near the base, then suddenly widening to a rounded tip)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade tip

  the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  15–60 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  At least 0 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  • edges of forests
  • forests
  • meadows or fields
  • woodlands

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is held upright

  Flowering stem interior

  the flowering stem is hollow

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

In New England

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key