Maianthemum trifolium - (image 1 of 4)
Taxonomy
Family: Liliaceae
Habitat
Wet, acid woods and bogs.
Associates
Distribution
Throughout Canada. In the U.S. from New England south to NJ, PA, OH, west through MI to MN. Also occurs in northern Asia.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial, 10-40 cm high, glabrous. Leaves basal, 1-4, typically 3, oblong to lanceolate, to 12 cm long. Flowers white, 3-8 in a long-peduncled raceme; tepals 6. Fruit dark red when ripe.
Notes
Flowers May to June
Wetland indicator: Obligate
These plants were photographed in a bog in the Adirondacks in late July. The plants in the last two images were blooming later than normal and the leaves seem a bit underdeveloped, but the first should give a good impression of the normal structure of the plant. It is endangered in CT and NJ, threatened in RI and presumed to have been extirpated from OH.
Formerly known as Smilacina trifolia (L.) Desf.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of
Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
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Michael Hough © 2009 |