Veratrum californicum

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Genus Veratrum

Herbs, perennial , from short, thick, vertical rhizomes and swollen basal bulbs; roots contractile, fleshy . Stems erect , simple , hollow, robust , basally thickened, leafy. Leaves alternate, simple, strongly veined, narrowly to broadly orbicular , often plicate , reduced upwards, narrowed into closed , tubular , often overlapping sheaths . Inflorescences compound-racemose or large terminal-paniculate, bracteate , pubescent . Flowers bisexual or some proximal ones staminate ; perianth perigynous, rotate to ± campanulate , with hypanthium fused to base of ovary; tepals persistent , 6, spreading to erect, distinct to weakly connate basally, off-white, green, yellow, or purple, petaloid , not clawed, equal to subequal , margins entire or erose-fimbriate; glands 1-2, basal, on adaxial surface, V-shaped over midrib or marginal pair; stamens 6, perigynous; filaments distinct, filiform ; anthers persistent, 1-locular with confluent thecae, cordate-reniform, dehiscence apical/valvate; ovary superior or partly inferior, 3-locular; styles 3, erect to divergent, distinct, short; stigmas elongate , extending down inner style surfaces. Fruits capsular , deeply 3-lobed, style beaks persistent, dehiscence septicidal. Seeds ellipsoid to fusiform , flat, broadly winged (± globose with wings reduced to basal ridges in V. fimbriatum). x = 8.

Species 25-30: Northern Hemisphere.

The number of Veratrum species depends on the taxonomic treatment of four wide-ranging species complexes, three of which are entirely or mainly Eurasian (V. album, V. nigrum Linnaeus, and V. maackii Regel) and one North American (V. viride) (O. Loesener 1926, 1927, 1928; B . Mathew 1989; J. H. Zimmerman 1958). The Asian species have been variously circumscribed (Chen S. C. and H. Takahashi 2000; H. Kato et al. 1996; T. Nakai 1937, 1937b; N. S. Lee 1985, 1985b). Generic size further depends on inclusion or not of the closely related Melanthium (J. D. Ambrose 1975, 1980; P. Goldblatt 1995; M. N. Tamura 1998; W. B. Zomlefer 1997b), here treated as a separate genus.

The medicinal/poisonous properties of Veratrum involve a complex of cerveratrum and jerveratrum alkaloids, some with proven hypotensive properties and others that are highly toxic to humans and livestock (S. M. Kupchan et al. 1961; A. Osol et al. 1960; I. W. Southon and J. Buckingham 1989). Veraloid, a standard mixture of the most hypotensive Veratrum alkaloids, was widely prescribed until late in the nineteenth century, when emetic side effects greatly curtailed its use. The types and concentrations of alkaloids vary with the species, plant part, and season (C. A. Taylor 1956, 1956b). Several Veratrum species are occasionally cultivated surrounded by low-growing plants for their architectural appeal in mesic or bog gardens. Century-old plants grow from the long-lived rhizome-bulb.[1]

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,018 meters (0 to 9,902 feet).[2]

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Taxonomy

Notes

Publishing author : Durand Publication : Pl. Pratten. Calif. [Durand] 103 (-104) 1855 [Jun 1855]

Similar Species

Members of the genus Veratrum

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 16 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

V. album (White False Hellebore) · V. album album (White False Hellebore) · V. californicum (California False Hellebore) · V. californicum var. californicum (California False Hellebore) · V. californicum var. caudatum (Cascade False Hellebore) · V. californicum var. tenuipetaloides (California False Hellebore) · V. fimbriatum (Fringed False Hellebore) · V. formosanum (Veratrum) · V. grandiflorum (Veratrum) · V. insolitum (Siskiyou False Hellebore) · V. nigrum (Black False Hellebore) · V. oxysepalum (White False Hellebore) · V. oxysepalum oxysepalum (White False Hellebore) · V. tenuipetalum (Colorado False Hellebore) · V. viride (Corn Lily) · V. viride var. escholtzianoides (American White-Hellebore)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A Yosemite flora; a descriptive account of the ferns and flowering plants, including the trees, of the Yosemite National Park; with simple keys for their identification. .. by Harvey Monroe Hall and Carlotta Case Hall. San Francisco, Elder, 1912. url p. 51.
• A flora of California, by Willis Linn Jepson. San Francisco, Calif., Cunningham, Curtis & Welch, 1909- url p. 265, p. 266.
• A guide to the poisonous plants and weed seeds of Canada and the northern United States / by R.B. Thomson and H.B. Sifton. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1922. url p. 168.
• A manual of poisonous plants, chiefly of eastern North America, with brief notes on economic and medicinal plants, and numerous illustrations, Cedar Rapids, Ia., The Torch Press, 1911. url , , .
• A manual of poisonous plants: chiefly of eastern North America, with brief notes on economic and medicinal plants, and numerous illustrations / by L. H. Pammel. 1911 Cedar Rapids, Ia.: The Torch Press, 1910-11. url p. 381, p. 835.
• A preliminary list of the Hemiptera of Colorado / by C. P. Gillette and Carl [i.e. Charles] F. Baker. Fort Collins, Colo.: American Standard, 1895. url p. 122.
• A preliminary list of the Uredinales of California, by Walter C. Blasdale. Berkeley: University of California press, 1919. url p. 125, p. 157.
• A report upon the boreal flora of the Sierra Nevada of California / by Frank Jason Smiley. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1921. url p. 142.
• An account of the birds and mammals of the San Jacinto area of southern California with remarks upon the behavior of geographic races on the margins of their habitats by J. Grinnell and H.S. Swarth. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1913. url p. 404.
• An annotated catalogue of types of the University of Illinois mycological collections (ILL) / Urbana: University of Illinois Press, c1997. url p. 84.
• An illustrated flora of the Pacific States: Washington, Oregon, and California. Stanford University, Stanford University Press, 1923-[60] url p. 377, p. 378.
• An introduction to California plant life Berkeley: University of California Press, [c1974] url p. 152.
• Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 1897- url p. 510, p. 511, p. 512, p. 518.
• Aquatic and wetland plants of southwestern United States, by Donovan S. Correll and Helen B. Correll. [Washington]Environmental Protection Agency; [For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.]1972. url p. 655.
• As California wild flowers grow: suggestions to nature lovers / by Katherine Chandler. San Francisco, Ca.: Harr Wagner Publishing Co., 1922. url p. 101.
• Bartonia;proceedings of the Philadelphia botanical club. .. 62 2004 Philadelphia, Philadelphia Botanical Club, Academy of Natural Sciences. url p. 11, p. 64, p. 89, p. 93.
• Britton, N. L. (ed.). North American flora. [New York]New York Botanical Garden. url p. 963.
• Bulletin of miscellaneous information /Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 1908 London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1900-1941. url p. 16, p. 99.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1902-1971. url , p. 7.
• Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [Washington, D.C.?]: Supt. of Docs., G.P.O., 1913-1923. url p. 51.
• California fish and game. [San Francisco, etc.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game. url p. 134.
• California native plantsman: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, Tilden Botanic Garden: with an introduction by Walter Knight; interviews conducted by Suzanne B. Riess in 1990. url p. 151.
• Common edible and useful plants of the West / Edited by Vinson Brown. Major illustrators: Emily Reid, Charles Yocom and Barbara Johnson. Healdsburg, Calif.: Naturegraph Co., 1962. url p. 34.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 25 1925 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 119, p. 196, p. 205, p. 255, p. 282, p. 317, p. 49, p. 8, plate XX.
• Dedication papers: scientific papers presented at the dedication of the laboratory building and plant houses, April 19-21, 1917. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1918. url p. 297.
• Elementary flora of the Northwest, by Theodore C. Frye. .. and George B. Rigg. .. Cincinnati [etc.]American book company[c1914] url p. 55.
• Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url p. 19.
• Farmer's cyclopedia: a compilation of such bulletins and reports as are indispensable to the practical farmer. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, Page, 1914. url p. 402.
• Field notes on amphibians, reptiles and birds of northern Humboldt County, Nevada, with a discussion of some of the faunal features of the region, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1912. url .
• Flora of southeastern Washington and adjacent Idaho, by Charles V. Piper. .. and R. Kent Beattie. .. Lancaster, Pa.: Press of the New era printing company, 1914. url p. 65, p. 65.
• Flora of the northwest coast, including the area west of the summit of the Cascade Mountains, from the forty-ninth parallel south to the Calapooia Mountains on the south border of Lane County, Oregon. Lancaster, Pa., Press of the New Era Printing Company, 1915. url .
• Flora of the northwest coast: including the area west of the summit of the Cascade Mountains, from the forty-ninth parallel south to the Calapooia Mountains on the south border of Lane County, Oregon / by Charles V. Piper and R. Kent Beattie. Lancaster, Pa.: Press of the New era printing company, 1915. url p. 103.
• Flora of the state of Washington / by Charles V. Piper. Washington: G.P.O., 1906 url .
• Flora of the state of Washington. By Charles V. Piper. Washington, Govt. Print. Off., 1906. url .
• Great Basin naturalist memoirs. 1987 [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. url p. 810.
• Leaflets of western botany. San Fransisco:[J. T. Howell], 1932-1966. url p. 276.
• Memoirs / Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Garden, 1918-1936. url p. 272, p. 297.
• Montana wetland assessment method / prepared by Jeff Berglund, Western EcoTech. Helena, Mont.: Western EcoTech, 1999. url p. 4.
• Montana wetland field evaluation: form and instructions / prepared by Jeff Berglund, Morrison-Maierle Environmental Corporation. Helena, Mont.: Morrison-Maierle Environmental Corporation, 1996. url p. 6.
• Muhlenbergia. Chico, Calif. [etc] url p. 148.
• National list of scientific plant names. [Washington, D.C.]: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 1982- url p. 425.
• North American fauna. Washington: Fish and Wildlife Service; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. url p. 140.
• Notes on western range forbs: Equisetaceae through Fumariaceae / by William A. Dayton. Washington, D.C.: Forest Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1960. url p. 228, p. 45.
• Occasional papers - San Diego Society of Natural History. 1949 San Diego, The Society. url p. 28, p. 28.
• Pamphlets on forestry. Grazing. [1900?- url p. 14.
• Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 210.
• Plant species of concern / Helena, Mont.: Montana Natural Heritage Program, c2003. url .
• Plantae Bakerianae by Edw. L. Greene, and others. Washington, D.C.: s.n., 1901 url p. 51.
• Plantæ Bakerianæ / by Edw. L. Greene and others. [Washington, D.C.: s.n., 1901. url p. 51.
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• Sensitive plant surveys in the Big Belt and Elkhorn Mountains, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Region 1, Helena National Forest, Montana / prepared by Jackie M. Poole and Bonnie L. Heidel; prepared for Helena National Forest. Helena, Mont.: Montana Natural Heritage Program, [1993] url .
• Sensitive, threatened, and endangered vascular plants of Montana / Peter Lesica, J. Stephen Shelly. Helena, Mont.: Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, 1991. url p. 58, p. 88.
• Textbook of pastoral and agricultural botany, for the study of the injurious and useful plants of country and farm, by John W. Harshberger. .. with 121 illustrations. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co., [c1920] url p. 51, p. 51.
• The English flower garden and home grounds: design and arrangement shown by existing examples of gardens in Great Britain and Ireland, followed by a description of the plants, shrubs and trees for the open-air garden and their culture / by W. Robinson; illustrated with many engravings on wood. London: J. Murray, 1906. url p. 908.
• The Garden: an illustrated weekly journal of gardening in all its branches. London: [s.n., url p. 11, p. 426.
• The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. London: [Gardeners Chronicle], 1874-1955. url , , p. 22, p. 29, p. 389, p. 395.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 40 1980 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 245, p. 289, p. 643, p. 69.
• The Plant world. Baltimore [etc.]Plant World Association [etc.] url p. 209.
• The University of Kansas science bulletin. [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. url p. 252, p. 261.
• The stock-poisoning plants of Montana: a preliminary report / by V. K. Chesnut and E. V. Wilcox. Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1901. url p. 119.
• University of California publications in zoology. Berkeley: University Press, 1906- url p. 329, p. 33, p. 338, p. 416, p. 445, p. 7.
• Western flower guide, wild flowers of the Rockies and west to the Pacific, Garden City, Doubleday, Page & company, 1917. url p. 284.
• Heller, A. A. 1905. The western veratrums. Muhlenbergia 1: 119125.
• Leinfellner, W. 1961. Zur Kenntnis des MonokotyledonenPerigons. III. Die Perigonblatter einiger weiterer Melanthioideen (Melanthium, Zygadenus, Anticlea, Toxicoscordion, Veratrum und Kreysigia). Oesterr. Bot. Z. 108: 108210.
• Loesener, O. 1926. Studien über die Gattung Veratrum und ihre Verbreitung. Verh. Bot. Vereins Prov. Brandenburg 68: 105166.
• Loesener, O. 1927. Übersicht über die Arten der Gattung Veratrum. Teil I. Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 24: 6172.
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Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 01, 2008:

• Berkeley Natural History Museums, University and Jepson Herbaria DiGIR provider
• Comisión nacional para el conocimiento y uso de la biodiversidad, Herbario del Instituto de Ecología, A.C., México
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• Oregon State University, Vascular Plant Collection
• School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium
• School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, The Deaver Herbarium, Northern Arizona University
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
• University of Washington Burke Museum, Vascular Plant Collection - University of Washington Herbarium
• Utah State University, USU-UTC Specimen Database
• Utah Valley State College
• , Utah Valley State College Herbarium

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2662433
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-291216
• GRIN Nomen Number: 41143
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 42757
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 543476-1
• MoBot NameID: 18401403
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: VECAC
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 67573

Footnotes

1. Dale W. McNeal Jr. & Aaron D. Shaw "Veratrum". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 14, 53, 55, 56, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 82. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Mean = 1,183.880 meters (3,884.121 feet), Standard Deviation = 683.820 based on 321 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.