Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Mitchella repens
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Partridgeberry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Mitchella repens
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-06-001:
Mitchella repens FAMILY Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Mitchella repens
COMMON NAME:
Partridgeberry, Twinflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_mire_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_mire_005_lhd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_mire_007_lvd
)
Diane Creaton dmc_mrepensfleucocarpa
February Pickens County SC
Keowee Toxaway State Natural Area
Mitchella repens f. leucocarpa - a naturally occurring form with white berries.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_m_repens
March
Flowers occur in pairs, then fuse to form a single berry-like fruit, per Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition.
)
Gill Newberry gn05_m_repens_fruits
May
)
JK Marlow jkm070506_062
May Gaston County NC
Redlair Farms
Emerging pairs of flower buds.
)
JK Marlow jkm080531_004b
May Pickens County SC
Keowee Toxaway State Natural Area
Fragrant, tubular flowers are borne in pairs on terminal stalks, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm190518_8467
May Greenville County SC
)
Keith Bradley kab_mitchella_repens_7723
May NC
The two corollas are quite hairy inside & have their ovaries united, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Keith Bradley kab_mitchella_repens_7734
May NC
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmrepens_cainhoy
May Berkeley County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
Plants in maritime forests are more robust than others, the stems sometimes 20-30cm tall, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmrepens_lr2
May Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_mitchella_repens_3
May
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_mitchella_repens_3b
May
Leaves slightly leathery, ovate to broadly heart-shaped, w whitish midvein, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm130623_285
June Greenville County SC
Gateway Elementary School Nature Trail
Mitchella repens f. leucocarpa.
)
Steve Marlow snm160603_018
June NC
Foothills Trail
)
Tim Spira tpsmrepens
June
)
Tim Spira tpsmrepens2
June
The bases of the 2 calyces are usually fused; calyx 3-4mm long, lobes minute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0311b_26
November Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Dan Whitten sdw121312_dsc00247
December Pickens County SC
Keowee Toxaway State Natural Area
Mitchella repens f. leucocarpa.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Mitchella repens
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Mitchella repens
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-06-001:
Mitchella repens
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Mitchella repens
938
Subshrub; Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Deciduous and coniferous forests, stream-banks, heath balds, maritime forests, on rotten logs and hummocks in bottomlands and other wetter habitats, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
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:
Evergreen
Simple
Opposite
Margins entire
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
4-lobed corolla
4 well exserted stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Red/White
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p202
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p158
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p280
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p111
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p149
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p074
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p193
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p237
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p260
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p172
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p156
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p106
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p140
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p236
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p321
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p265
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p308
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p406
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p214
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p166
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p239
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".