''Chamaelirium'' is a genus of flowering plants containing the single species ''Chamaelirium luteum'', commonly known as blazing-star, devil's bit, false unicorn, fairy wand, and helonias. It is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herb native to the eastern United States. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including wet

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable condition ...

and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

woodlands. ''Chamaelirium luteum'' has a basal rosette of around six 8–15 cm leaves, from which a single spike-like raceme

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

(1–1.5 cm diameter, 8–30 cm length) emerges. The plants are generally

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with male-biased gender ratios in a given population. This is due to higher mortality of female plants, and the tendency of female plants to flower less frequently. Female stalks tend to be taller, giving a total maximum plant height of about 1.2 m, but also tend to have about ten times fewer

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

. ''Chamaelirium luteum'' is the only member of its

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus, and is quite rare at the fringes of its range.

Distribution

''Chamaelirium luteum'' can be found in temperate

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, United States and Canada. It occurs in the east of the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and it is historically known from southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Etymology

The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of ''Chamaelirium luteum'' comes from the Greek and means: chamai = "on the ground" and leirion = "lilly", and the Latin luteus = "yellow". Chamaelirium luteum BB-1913

Cultivation

Because ''Chamaelirium luteum'' is normally collected wild, it is at risk of extinction. Cultivation techniques are still under development to satisfy the demand from the market.

Site selection

''Chamaelirium luteum'' prefers moist, well

drained ''Drained'', ( Portuguese: ''O Cheiro do Ralo'') is a 2006 Brazilian dark comedy film based on a novel by Lourenço Mutarelli. It was directed by Heitor Dhalia, and stars Selton Mello. The film was produced by Geração Conteúdo, Primo Filmes ...

and

acidic soil Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the nega ...

( pH: 4.5 – 6) with a high

humus In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...

content. In open fields it should be shaded by a shading structure, to protect it from the direct radiation of the sun. For forest cultivation it should be preferably planted in an area with tall hardwood trees.

Planting

''Chamaelirium luteum'' can be propagated through seeds or root division. For propagation through root division the

rhizomes In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

can be divided by cutting them into pieces of . This disc-shaped pieces should be left to

callus A callus (: calluses) is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, b ...

over night and can be planted in pots on the next day. The soil should be kept moist and shaded until the plants emerge. Young plants can be transplanted in a well prepared growing bed with a high organic matter in a planting distance of . To support the plants with nutrients, pine needles, rotted conifer-derived

sawdust Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling and routing. It is composed of very small chips of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, portable p ...

or bark mulch should be added to the top soil. For propagation through seeds, the seeds should be sown in late Fall or early Winter to a depth of in breeding beds with high humus content. For a good germination the seed should go through stratification. The plants grow best in soil mixture of

peat moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

and decomposed

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

needles. When the young plants emerge they should be left in undisturbed at least for one growing season. Then they can be transplanted as for the propagation method through root division.

Maintenance

The plant should be moist and shaded and protected from herbivory by

snails A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

and

slugs Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a sma ...

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

in woods. Weeds should always be removed.

Uses

''Chamaelirium luteum'' is used as ornamental or medical herb. Historically it has been used widely by

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. It was traditionally used to prevent miscarriages and it has the reputation of improving fertility. Today it is used to treat

menstrual The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that makes pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of egg ...

problems,

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

complaints, fertility issues,

ovarian cysts An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac within the ovary. They usually cause no symptoms, but occasionally they may produce bloating, lower abdominal pain, or lower back pain. The majority of cysts are harmless. If the cyst either breaks open or c ...

and

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

The

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s can be harvested after six years and is done in Fall after collecting the mature seeds. After removing the soil and the roots from other plants, the rhizome should be stored unwashed until further processing. It should be prevented from drying out and also from too high moisture, which could lead to mold

infestation Infestation is the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. It can also refer to the actual organisms living on or within a host. Terminology In general, the term "infestation" refers to parasitic diseases caused by animals su ...

. Before processing, the rhizome should be washed carefully.

Bioactive components

The bioactive components are a mixture of steroidal

saponins Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are Organic compound, organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high Molar mass, molecul ...

, including chamaelirin and

aglycone An aglycone (aglycon or genin) is the chemical compound remaining after the glycosyl group on a glycoside is replaced by a hydrogen atom. For example, the aglycone of a cardiac glycoside would be a steroid A steroid is an organic compoun ...

diosgenin Diosgenin, a phytosteroid sapogenin, is the product of hydrolysis by acids, strong bases, or enzymes of saponins, extracted from the tubers of '' Dioscorea'' wild yam species, such as the Kokoro. It is also present in smaller amounts in a num ...

. These bioactive substances act as an

emmenagogue Emmenagogues (also spelled ''emmenagogs'') are herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus; some stimulate menstruation. Women may use emmenagogues to stimulate menstrual flow when menstruation is absent for reasons other than pr ...

and

emetic Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, preg ...

References

External links

Henriettes Herbal
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16868579 Melanthiaceae Pharmacognosy Melanthiaceae genera Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of Ontario Monotypic Liliales genera Flora of Illinois Dioecious plants