Veratrum latifolium — slender bunch-flower

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 petal color

  • green to brown
  • white
  • yellow

  Flower petal length

  5–12 mm

  Flower symmetry

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

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a panicle (branched with the individual flowers on stalks)

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of pistils

  3

  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 fusion

  • the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape
  • the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  5–12 mm

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are fused to the petals or tepals at or near their bases

  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 compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit length

  12–19 mm

  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)

  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)
  • the plant has one or more swollen storage organs underground, such as bulbs, tubers or corms

• Leaves

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf blade clasps the stem at the base, or the leaf blade goes all the way around the stem, so that the stem appears to pierce the leaf blade

  Leaf blade base shape

  NA

  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

  250–550 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)

  Leaf blade surface colors

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

  Leaf blade veins

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

  Leaf blade width

  10–72 mm

  Leaf type

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

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Connecticut

  Specific habitat

  forests

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem leaves

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

Wetland status

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

In New England

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key