Clintonia
umbellulata
|
Photograph courtesy of John Pickering
|
Common Names |
Higher Taxa |
Indentification |
Geography |
Natural History |
How to Encounter |
References |
The Genus Clintonia |
The Family Liliaceae
Gwendolyn M. Motz
gwen@arches.uga.edu
Ecology Student
Chemistry and Biochemistry major
University of Georgia
Athens
Common Names
The C. umbellulata is more commonly known as the Speckled Wood Lily,
Wood Lily or the White Clintoia (1) (2).
Return to index.
Higher Taxa
- Class: Monocotyledones (monocots)
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae (also called the Lily family)
Subfamily: undetermined
Tribe: undetermined
Genus: Clintonia (also known as the Bead Lilies)
Species: umbellulata
Return to index.
Identification
The White Clintonia, or Speckled Wood Lily, ranges in height from 8" to 20" (3).
The Speckled Wood Lily commonly "has a whorl of 3 or 4 leaves very much like" the
Yellow Clintonia, or Clintonia borealis (1). The leaves are usually oval and may
be "used in salads or as a pot herb"(3) and may be eaten raw or cooked (please
see the Plants For a Future Database, http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk).
In addition, if the plants are "harvested in [the] spring before they
fully unfurl, they [will] have a cucumber flavor" (6).
The wild flower usually has
many white flowers that are lightly speckled with purple and green, hence
the name Speckled Wood Lily (1). The
Speckled Wood Lily may have "up to thirty flowers on a stem" (2). The sepals and petals
are "only about 1/3 inch long" (2), while the flower is approximately 0.5" long (3).
In general, the flower regularly contains 3 sepals and 3 petals of the same size
and color, forming a bell-shaped corolla, 6 stamens, and 1 pistil (3) The flowers
are in bloom from May to July (3).
Upon pollination, the flowers develop into "a cluster of round, shiny dark blue or
black berries that are often more conspicuous than the small flowers" (3). The berries
are appromately 6-8mm long (4). Mature seeds generally contain 2 seeds (5).
**Due to a lack of knowledgeable sources, the authority who described the species, the holotype
speciman, and an identification key for the species were unable to be found.
Return to index.
Geography
The Speckled Wood Lily is found within woodlands at lower altitudes (1).
More specifically, the wild flower is found in the mountains from New York
to Ohio and as far south as in the northern Georgia and Tennessee mountains (1).
http://www.bio.utk.edu
Similar maps of Georgia and the Carolinas locating the Clintonia umbellulata
can be found in sources Jones and Coile, 1988 (7) and Radford, Ahles, and Bell,
1968 (4).
Clintonia
umbellulata |
AREA |
STATUS |
REFERENCES |
North America:
Continental United States; Canada |
Yes
|
Grimm, 1993 (1) |
Eastern North America:
United States east of Mississippi:
Ontario and eastern Canada |
Yes
|
Grimm, 1993 (1) |
Southeastern United States:
AL AR DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV |
Yes
|
Grimm, 1993 (1) |
Southern Appalachian States:
AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV |
Yes
|
Grimm, 1993 (1) |
Coastal Plain |
Not likely |
No information |
Piedmont |
Not likely
|
No information |
Blue Ridge Mountains |
Yes |
Jones and Coile, 1988 (7) |
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest |
Yes |
Personal Observation (5/28/99) |
Georgia |
Yes |
Jones and Coile, 1988 (7) |
Clarke County, Georgia |
No |
Jones and Coile, 1988 (7) |
Return to index.
Natural History
The Clintonia umbellulata prefers a "damp peaty sandy soil in a cool
shady position" (6); this is why the plant is most commonly found in the mountains
from New York to Ohio and as far south as the Northern Georgia and Tenessee mountains (1).
The wild flower prefers soil that is slightly moist
and in a pH range of neutral to acidic (6). In addition, the seed is "best sown as
soon as it is ripe in a cold frame" and it usually germinates in the spring (6). As
previously described in the "Identification Section," the flower are generally
in bloom from May to July (3).
**Additional information on the population dynamics, life-cycle, and seasonal activities
was unable to be found.
Return to index.
How to Encounter
The lightly speckled purple and green flowers are generally in bloom between
May to July within the
woodlands over lower altitude regions (3); therefore, that appears to be the best
time to start looking for the exotic wildflower. The flowers are located from Ohio
to New York and as far south as the northern Georgia and Tenessee mountains (1). The
flowers prefer relatively low altitude regions of the forest (3). In addition, the wildflower
prefers damp and shady soil, so the best place to look for the place is on the flower
of a old, thick forest (6).
The Clintonia umbellulata observed within the
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, which is located in the Nantahala National Forest in North
Carolina, was found early on in a steep mountain hike on
the "Naked Trail" in late May (Personal Observation). The observed flower was found by itself
near the trail on the bottom of the forest. The flower hid next to a tall shading
tree in an old growth forest.
Return to index.
References
1) Grimm, William C. The Illustrated Book of Wildflowers and Shrubs
. Stackpole Books Publishers: Harrisburg, PA;
1993, p. 56.
2) Rickett, Harold W. Wildflowers of the United States: The Southeastern
States. William C. Steere, ed. McGraw-Hill
Book Company: New York, NewYork. p. 44.
3) Klimas, John E. and James A. Cunningham. Wildflowers of Eastern
America. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.:
New York, New York, 1974. p. 46.
4) Radford, Albert E., Ahles, Harry E. and C. Ritchie Bell, Manual of the
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University
of North Carolina Press:
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1968. p.40-41.
5) Duncan, Wilbur H., and Leonard E. Foote, Wildflowers of the Southeatern
United States. The University of Georgia
Press: Athens, Georgia. 1975.
p. 254.
6)
http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf-cgi/arr_html?Clintonia+umbellulata
7) Jones, Samuel and Coile, Nancy C. The Distribution of the Vascular
Flora of Georgia. The University of Georgia
(Department of Botany) Press: Athens, Georgia. 1988. p. 44.
8) http://www.bio.utk.edu/botany/herbarium/vascular/atlas/
monocots/liliaceae/clintonia-umbellulata.html
Return to index.
**Please note: due to the lack of knowledgeable sources some
information (such as the location of the holotype and the full scientific
name) was unable to be found.
Common Names |
Higher Taxa |
Indentification |
Geography |
Natural History |
How to Encounter |
References |
The Genus Clintonia |
The Family Liliaceae
If you have any questions or
concerns, please send me an e-mail message and I would be happy
to help!