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Medeola latifolia

Interesting Facts

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Description

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Family Liliaceae

Herbs perennial , with a rhizome, bulb, or corm, rarely shrubby or treelike. Leaves basal and/or cauline, alternate, opposite, or whorled , parallel or rarely reticulate veined. Inflorescence a raceme , panicle, spike, umbel, reduced panicle, or other, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual , rarely unisexual , actinomorphic , rarely zygomorphic; bracts present or absent; bracteoles present or absent. Perianth usually corollalike, 6-merous, rarely 4- or 8-merous, in 2 whorls; segments free (tepals) or united . Stamens 6, rarely 3, 4, or 8, inserted opposite perianth segments; filaments free or adnate to perianth, rarely connate into a corona ; anthers usually 2-loculed, basifixed or dorsifixed and versatile, introrse , latrorse , or extrorse , dehiscing usually by vertical slits. Carpels usually connate for most or all of their length , rarely only at base ; ovary superior, rarely semi-inferior, 3-loculed, rarely 2- or 4-loculed, with axile placentae, or rarely 1-loculed with a parietal placenta; ovules usually anatropous . Nectaries septal, perigonal, or absent. Fruit a capsule or berry. Seeds with abundant endosperm and small embryo.

About 250 genera and 3500 species: worldwide, especially in temperate and subtropical regions; 57 genera (three endemic, two introduced ) and 726 species (379 endemic, 11 introduced) in China.[1]

Genus Medeola

Herbs, perennial , from tapered, white, tuberlike, horizontal rhizomes. Stems simple , slender. Leaves in 2 whorls; proximal blades oblong-oblanceolate, base attenuate, margins entire, apex acuminate; distal blades ovate , rounded at base, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal , umbellate , (2-) 3-9-flowered, sessile. Flowers: tepals caducous , 6, similar, recurved, distinct ; stamens 6; anthers versatile, oblong , extrorse ; ovary superior, 3-locular; styles 3, recurved, distinct to base, often purple; pedicel declined or spreading in flower, erect in fruit. Fruits baccate , dark purple to black, globose . Seeds few, shiny brown, subglobose. x = 7.

Species 1: e North America.

Medeola was removed from its long association with Trillium and Paris (tribe Parideae) when A. L. Takhtajan (1987, 1997) created the monotypic Medeolaceae, placing it next to a strictly defined Liliaceae. M. N. Tamura (1998c) included Medeola and Clintonia in the tribe Medeoloideae within a narrowly defined Liliaceae. The association of Medeola and Clintonia is supported by molecular analysis (K . Hayashi et al. 1998, 2001; T. B . Patterson and T. J. Givnish 1998) as well as morphology (R. Y. Berg 1962; M. Takahashi 1984; F. H. Utech 1978e), embryology (R. Y. Berg 1962b), and cytology (R. M. Stewart and R. Bamford 1942; M. N. Tamura 1995).[2]

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : Salisb. Publication : Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 252 1796 [Nov-Dec 1796]

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Medeola

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. asparagoides (Bridal-Creeper) · M. virginiana (Indian Cucumber)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Xinqi Chen, Prof. Song-Yun Liang, Jie-mei Xu, David E. Boufford, Michael G. Gilbert, Rudolf V. Kamelin, Shoichi Kawano, Tetsuo Koyama, Elena V. Mordak, Junko Noguchi, Victor G. Soukup, Hiroshi Takahashi, Kamilla G. Tamanian, Minoru N. Tamura & Nicholas J. Turland "Liliaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 73. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Frederick H. Utech "Medeola". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 15, 51, 56, 150, 152. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/19/2012