''Uvularia perfoliata'', the perfoliate bellwort, is a perennial forb native to the eastern United States and Canada, which produces pale yellow flowers in spring.

Description

The smooth slender stem of ''Uvularia perfoliata'' is 15 to 50 centimeters tall, and forked above the middle. The leaves are obovate, 4 to 12 centimeters long and 1.5 to 4 centimeters wide, glabrous or glaucous, and perfoliate. There are usually 1 to 4 leaves below the fork in the stem. The stems bear a single downward drooping flower with six 2 to 3.5 centimeter long tepals which are granular on the inside. The fruit is a triangular three lobed capsule 7 to 13 millimeters in length.

Distribution and habitat

''Uvularia perfoliata'' is widely distributed in the eastern and southern United States from Texas to New Hampshire, plus the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

of Ontario. It is listed as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

by the states of Indiana and New Hampshire. In Virginia, it grows in habitats such as floodplain forests, but also

mesic Mesic may refer to: * Mesic, North Carolina, a town in the United States * Mesic habitat, a type of habitat See also *Mesić (disambiguation) *Mešić Mešić is a Bosnian surname, a patronymic derived from the masculine given name '' Meša'', it ...

upland forests, and dry rocky woodlands. The presence of this species is dependent on appropriate habitat, and it may be eliminated from an area by development, changes in land use, or competition with

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

Taxonomy

This species is a member of the genus '' Uvularia'', which was formerly placed in the family Liliaceae, but has more recently been placed in the family Colchicaceae, in keeping with the findings of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group.Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. 2003. An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141:399-436., cited in Walter Fertig The University of Montana Herbarium Newsletter. (Spring 2011). University of Montana, Missoula, MT. http://herbarium.dbs.umt.edu

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3552800 perfoliata Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status