Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Dioscoreales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Burmannia capitata
FAMILY
Burmanniaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
At the top of the stem is the flowering "head" -- each flower appearing like a narrow white tube and only 1/4" long. Because the colored portion visible at any range is the ovary, when in fruit the plant looks essentially the same as when in flower. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Burmannia capitata
FAMILY
Burmanniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Burmannia capitata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Burmannia capitata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 048-01-002:
Burmannia capitata FAMILY Burmanniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Burmannia capitata
COMMON NAME:
White Burmannia, Southern Bluethread
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Samantha Tessel sam090722_1034
September Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
A dense cluster of tiny white flowers, growing in all directions to form a "spiky-ball", per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
Samantha Tessel sam090722_1035
September Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
A thin wiry stem only about 3-4" high, with a few easily overlooked scale-like leaves, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6305
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
With luck you may find pitcher-plants, sundews, and orchids in the same seepage slope, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6311
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Flowers number 1-20 in a dense terminal cluster or head, each 3-5mm long and about 1mm wide, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Burmannia capitata
FAMILY
Burmanniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Burmannia capitata
FAMILY
Burmanniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Burmannia capitata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Burmannia capitata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 048-01-002:
Burmannia capitata
FAMILY
Burmanniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Burmannia capitata
4730
Forb
Annual
Habitat: pine savannas, bogs, shores of Coastal Plain depression ponds, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
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:
Simple
Alternate, scale-like
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Creamy-white, greenish
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
Petals absent or of 3 segments
3 stamens, inserted on the calyx tube
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p413
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p217
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p177
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".