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• Melanthiaceae
• Veratrum
• Veratrum viride

Veratrum viride — American false hellebore

Facts

Veratrum viride is composed of eastern North American populations that are widely separated from western North American populations. It is hypothesized that continental glaciation produced this distribution. This plant was considered to have magical properties by many Native American tribes, who used it for talismanic and ceremonial purposes, as well as to treat conditions ranging from hair loss to madness. However, the plant was widely considered to be poisonous if eaten.

Habitat

Floodplain (river or stream floodplains), forests, marshes, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands)

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Flower bracts

  there are bracts associated with the flower

  Flower orientation

  the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward

  Flower petal color

  • green to brown
  • yellow

  Flower petal length

  6–10 mm

  Flower shape

  • the flower is bell-shaped
  • the flower is flattened or platter-shaped

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Inflorescence hair glands

  the axis of the inflorescence has hairs entirely without glands

  Inflorescence length

  300–700 mm

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a panicle (branched with the individual flowers on stalks)

  Length of flower stalk

  2–10 mm

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  3

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are six petals, sepals or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  3

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal base

  the petal narrows abruptly at the base

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

  there are hairs on the inner/upper petal surface

  Petal nectaries

  there are nectaries at the petal bases

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  6–10 mm

  Sepal orientation

  • the sepals are pressed against the plant, or jutting stiffly upward
  • the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the plant

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Spathe length

  0 mm

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are not fused to the petals or tepals

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are similar in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Capsule ridges

  there are three ribs or wings on the capsule

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit cross-section

  the fruit is at least somewhat flattened

  Fruit length

  20–30 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Root septa

  the roots do not have transverse septa

  Underground organs

  • the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)
  • the plant has one or more swollen storage organs underground, such as bulbs, tubers or corms
  • there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  • the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  • the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf blade clasps the stem at the base, or the leaf blade goes all the way around the stem, so that the stem appears to pierce the leaf blade
  • the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  150–350 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  100–180 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  0 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  • terrestrial
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • edges of wetlands
  • forests
  • marshes
  • river or stream floodplains
  • swamps

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is held upright

  Flowering stem interior

  the flowering stem is hollow

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  • the stem has hairs on it
  • the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae