Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Chamaelirium
Sign in to saveChamaelirium is a genus of flowering plants containing the single species Chamaelirium luteum, commonly known as blazing-star, '''devil's bit, false unicorn, fairy wand, and helonias'''. It is a perennial herb native to the eastern United States. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including wet meadows and deciduous woodlands.
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 94
- With media
- 59
- Family
- Melanthiaceae
- Collections
- CAS, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY, ETSU, BRIT
- Recorded in
- United States
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Melanthiaceae
- Image
- Chamaelirium luteum - false unicorn - desc-flowering heads closed.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- taxon name
- Chamaelirium
- taxon rank
- genus
- topic's main category
- Category:Chamaelirium
- Commons category
- Chamaelirium
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Distribution
- Etymology
- Cultivation
- Site selection
- Planting
- Maintenance
- Uses
- Bioactive components
- References
- External links
Chamaelirium is a genus of flowering plants containing the single species Chamaelirium luteum, commonly known as blazing-star, '''devil's bit, false unicorn, fairy wand, and helonias'. It is a perennial herb native to the eastern United States. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including wet meadows and deciduous woodlands.
Chamaelirium luteum has a basal rosette of around six 8–15 cm leaves, from which a single spike-like raceme inflorescence (1–1.5 cm diameter, 8–30 cm length) emerges. The plants are generally dioecious, with male-biased gender ratios in a given population. This is due to higher mortality of female plants, and the tendency of female plants to flower less frequently. Female stalks tend to be taller, giving a total maximum plant height of about 1.2 m, but also tend to have about ten times fewer flowers.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chamaelirium” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.