Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Santalales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Nestronia umbellula
FAMILY
Santalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read Conjurer's Nut? or Not from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Read more about Nestronia at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Nestronia umbellula
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Nestronia umbellula
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Nestronia umbellula
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 060-02-001:
Nestronia umbellula FAMILY Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Nestronia umbellula
COMMON NAME:
Nestronia, Conjurer's-nut, Leechbush, Indian-olive
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Gill Newberry gn03_nestronia_inf
March Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
Small greenish flowers w 4-5 petal-like sepals. Male flowers are in umbels, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Gill Newberry gn03_nestronia_leaves
March Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
Leaves opposite, broad-bladed, 3-6cm long, acute or acuminate, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
Gill Newberry gn03_nestronia_leechb
March Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
)
Gill Newberry gn03_nestronia_plant
March Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120415_047
April Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
Many populations consist of all male or all female plants, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm120415_050
April Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm120415_053
April Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
Resembling an opposite-leaved lowbush blueberry, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120415_057
April Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmnestronia_flwrktsp
April
Female flowers are borne singly in the axils of leaves, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmnestronia_pc1
Month Unknown Pickens County SC
Poe Creek State Forest
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmnestronia_pc3
Month Unknown Pickens County SC
Poe Creek State Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Nestronia umbellula
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Nestronia umbellula
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Nestronia umbellula
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Nestronia umbellula
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 060-02-001:
Nestronia umbellula
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Nestronia umbellula
968
Shrub
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: Relatively mesic sites in sandhills in the upper Coastal Plain, mesic to dry Piedmont and montane oak forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & 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:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
4-5 sepals
Petals absent
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p202
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p247
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p100
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p057
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p237
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p218
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p140
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".