Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Apiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Erigenia bulbosa
FAMILY
Apiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Harbinger-of-Spring at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
See Notes on Erigenia bulbosa (Apiaceae) (Buddell & Thieret, 1985) for a very interesting and entertaining account of this plant, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
During germination, only one of the cotyledons develops, emerging from the soil and forming a stalked seed-leaf with an elliptic blade somewhat over 1cm long. This seed-leaf is the only structure appearing above the ground during the plant's first year. Read more in Notes on Erigenia bulbosa (Apiaceae) (Buddell & Thieret, 1985)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Erigenia bulbosa
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Erigenia bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Notes on Erigenia bulbosa (Apiaceae) (Buddell & Thieret, 1985)
Erigenia bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH (EXCLUDED) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 140-:
Erigenia bulbosa FAMILY Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Erigenia bulbosa
COMMON NAME:
Harbinger-of-Spring, Pepper-and-Salt, Erigenia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_erbu_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_e_bulbosa_17
March Floyd County GA
Black's Bluff Preserve
Anthers are purplish-brown, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_erigenia_bulbosa_2
March
Black's Bluff Preserve
Black of anthers & white of petals give plant a "pepper & salt" appearance, per www.missouriplants.com
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_erigenia_bulbosa_9
March
)
Ed Pivorun ebp090404_4894
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
Schizocarps purplish-black [when ripe], broader than long, notched at apex, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090404_043
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm090404_054
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
Leaves divided 2-3 times into 3 segments each, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Erigenia bulbosa
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Erigenia bulbosa
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Erigenia bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Notes on Erigenia bulbosa (Apiaceae) (Buddell & Thieret, 1985)
Erigenia bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH (EXCLUDED)
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 140-:
Erigenia bulbosa
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Erigenia bulbosa
2800
Forb
Annual/Perennial
Habitat: Mesic, nutrient-rich forests, either over calcareous substrate or on very rich alluvial deposits (such as riverbanks), per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Ternately compound, with 2-3 levels of compoundness
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
White
5-merous
5 petals
5 stamens (anthers purplish-brown)
Inferior ovary
Flowers in terminal compound umbels
FRUIT:
Spring
Purplish-black
Schizocarp of two mericarps
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p126
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p148
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p177
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p213
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