''Stenanthium densum'' is a poisonous but spectacular

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but ...

wildflower native to

pine barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

of the eastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is known variously as Osceola's plume, crowpoison, or black snakeroot. '' Stenanthium leimanthoides'' is either treated as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of this species or as a separate species. It is native to the southernmost

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

, from eastern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

east, down through most of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and to the easternmost Atlantic Coast north to

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, seldom far from the coast. Within the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Melanthiaceae, it is placed in the tribe

Melanthieae Melanthieae is a tribe of flowering plants within the family Melanthiaceae. Molecular phylogenetics, Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have resulted in a large-scale reassignment of many of its species to different genera; in par ...

. Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have resulted in substantial rearrangement of the species in this tribe, many being moved to different genera. ''S.'' ''densum'' was previously placed in ''

Zigadenus ''Zigadenus'' is a genus of flowering plants now containing only one species, ''Zigadenus glaberrimus'', the sandbog death camas, found in the southeastern United States from Mississippi to Virginia. Around 20 species were formerly included in th ...

'' as ''Z. densum'', and will be found under this name in older sources.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15295974 Flora of the Eastern United States Melanthiaceae

See also

References