Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clintonia umbellulata
FAMILY
Liliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Clintonia from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clintonia umbellulata
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDING Maryland Natural Heritage Program (2019)
Clintonia alleghaniensis
INCLUDING Maryland Natural Heritage Program (2019)
Clintonia umbellulata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Clintonia umbellulata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-05-002:
Clintonia umbellulata FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Xeniatrum umbellulatum
COMMON NAME:
Speckled Wood-lily, White Clintonia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_clum2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm230428_2927
April Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
This and C. borealis have leathery leaves with strongly depressed midveins, per Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition.
)
JK Marlow jkm230428_2928
April Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
)
Keith Bradley kab_c_umbellulata_02880
April Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
Keith Bradley kab_c_umbellulata_02883
April Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
Steve Marlow snm_p4210226e
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves have ciliate, or hairy, leaf margins, per Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0205k_18
May Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0405j_36
May Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0505m_02
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0505m_03
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Flowers in terminal, umbel-like clusters, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_004
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
Clintonia umbellulata on the left; on the right is Veratrum parviflorum.
)
JK Marlow jkm080504_077
May Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm240502_9001
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_c_umbellulata_8068
May Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Penny Longhurst pen_20200503_100125
May Transylvania County NC
Tepals white to greenish white, often spotted purplish brown or green distally, per Flora of North America.
)
Penny Longhurst pen_20200505_114629
May Transylvania County NC
... but the "spots" of these seem a bit much!
)
Penny Longhurst pen_20200505114603
May Transylvania County NC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_clintonia_umbellulata
May
Erect white flowers are usually purple-dotted, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_060321_0350
June Yancey County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm080726_076
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Fruits: Ellipsoid, blackish berries, about 0.3" long, in an umbel, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm080726_080
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
Ron Lance rwl349_a
September
Berry blue or black, 6-8mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clintonia umbellulata
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clintonia umbellulata
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDING
Maryland Natural Heritage Program (2019)
Clintonia alleghaniensis
INCLUDING
Maryland Natural Heritage Program (2019)
Clintonia umbellulata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Clintonia umbellulata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-05-002:
Clintonia umbellulata
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Xeniatrum umbellulatum
349
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Red oak and other oak forests, mesic to dry ridges and slopes, less commonly in northern hardwood forests, generally at lower elevations than C. borealis, though the two species can co-occur, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains, uncommon in Mountains of GA & SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
6 caducous tepals
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in terminal umbel-like clusters
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Blue/Black
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p066
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p135
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p162
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p338
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p171
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p165
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p024
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p389
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p356
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p412
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p353
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p009
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