''Melanthium'' is a genus of

herbaceous perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

s native to North America. They are closely related to ''

Veratrum ''Veratrum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in damp habitats across much of temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia, and North America. ''Veratrum'' species are vigorous herbaceous perennials with highly pois ...

'', and in fact are included in that genus by some authors. The distinction between ''Melanthium'' and ''Veratrum'' is based on various morphological traits, but it is not yet clear where the line is best drawn. They contain

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Th ...

s similar to those found in ''Veratrum'' and are thus assumed to be poisonous.

Species

Th
World Checklist
considers ''Melanthium'' as a synonym of ''Veratrum'', and accepts no species as members of ''Melanthium.'' Nor does

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants ...

br>Tropicos
does likewise, adding that proposals have been made to reject the name ''Melanthium'' entirely.Zomlefer, W. B., W. S. Judd & K.N. Gandhi. 2010. (1928) Proposal to conserve the name ''Veratrum'' against ''Melanthium'' (Melanthiaceae). Taxon 59(2): 644-645.The Plant List

World Flora Online World Flora Online is an Internet-based compendium of the world's plant species. Description The World Flora Online (WFO) is an open-access database, launched In October 2012 as a follow-up project to The Plant List, with the aim of publishing a ...

an
Flora of North America
however, do accept the following names in ''Melanthium:'' * ''

Melanthium latifolium ''Veratrum hybridum'' is a species of flowering plant in the Melanthiaceae known by the common names slender bunchflower and crisped bunchflower.

'' or '' Veratrum hybridum'' - eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

* ''

Melanthium parviflorum ''Melanthium'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants native to North America. They are closely related to '' Veratrum'', and in fact are included in that genus by some authors. The distinction between ''Melanthium'' and ''Veratrum'' is bas ...

'' or '' Veratrum parviflorum'' - southern

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

* ''

Melanthium virginicum ''Melanthium'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants native to North America. They are closely related to '' Veratrum'', and in fact are included in that genus by some authors. The distinction between ''Melanthium'' and ''Veratrum'' is bas ...

'' or '' Veratrum virginicum'' - eastern

and

Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

south to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

* '' Melanthium woodii'' or ''

Veratrum woodii ''Melanthium woodii'', common names Wood's bunchflower or Ozark bunch-flower, is a species formerly known as ''Veratrum woodii''. It is native to the central and southeastern parts of the United States, from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illino ...

'' - central + southeastern

References

Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae genera Flora of the United States {{Liliales-stub