Flora of North America species comparison

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Veratrum viride

Veratrum viride var. eschscholzianum

American false hellebore, corn lily, green false-hellebore, Indian hellebore, Indian-poke, showy false hellebore, vérâtre verti
Photo is of parent taxon

American wild hellebore, green false-hellebore, Indian poke
Stems

0.5–2 m, nearly glabrous to densely tomentose.

nearly glabrous proximally to densely tomentose distally.
Leaves

ovate to elliptic, reduced distally, to lanceolate, 15–35 × 8–20 cm, glabrous to densely hairy, especially on abaxial surface.

15–30 × 10–18 cm.
Inflorescences

paniculate, with ascending to spreading or distinctly drooping (particularly in w North America) branches, 30–70 cm, tomentose;

bracts lanceolate, shorter than flowers.

with branches spreading to commonly drooping.
Flowers

erect;

tepals deep green to yellowish green, 5–12 mm.
Capsules

oblong-ovoid, 2–3 cm, glabrous.

Seeds

flat, broadly winged, 8–10 mm.

Tepals

deep green to yellowish, lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, narrowed to short, broad claw, 5–12 mm, tomentose adaxially, margins of both whorls or at least inner obviously erose-serrulate;

gland 1, basal, dark green or yellowish green, V-shaped;

ovary glabrous;

pedicel 2–10 mm.

2n

= 32.

Veratrum viride

Veratrum viride var. eschscholzianum
Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Moist meadows, openings in coniferous forests
Elevation 0–2500 m (0–8200 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC; NT; YT
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Veratrum viride consists of two clearly related, disjunct populations, one in eastern and one in western North America. These were clearly separated by continental glaciation and have subsequently evolved in isolation. Nonetheless they show many critical features in common, and individual plants from either region occasionally show one or more features common to plants in the other. The two populations have been variously classified as separate species, varieties, or subspecies, or as a single taxon. We have chosen to recognize two distinctive, if subtle, varieties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Western Native Americans (Bella Colla, Cowlitz, Kwakiutl, Okanagan, Quinault, Salishan, Shuswap, and Thompson) used Veratrum viride var. eschscholzianum as an analgesic, antirheumatic, emetic, laxative, and poison, as well as a cold, blood, heart, orthopedic, and skin aid (D. E. Moerman 1986). Native Americans from northern British Columbia and the Yukon Territory consumed young plants as herbage (A. E. Porsild 1951; G. A. Mulligan and D. B. Munro 1987).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Inflorescence branches ascending to spreading, only rarely drooping; flowers spreading to rarely erect; east of 85th meridian.
var. viride
1. Inflorescence branches spreading to commonly drooping; flowers erect; west of 110th meridian.
var. eschscholzianum
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 74. FNA vol. 26, p. 75.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Veratrum Liliaceae > Veratrum > Veratrum viride
Sibling taxa
V. album, V. californicum, V. fimbriatum, V. insolitum
V. viride var. viride
Subordinate taxa
V. viride var. eschscholzianum, V. viride var. viride
Synonyms V. lobelianum var. [ß]eschscholzianum, V. eschscholzianum, V. escholtzianum, V. eschscholtzianum, V. viride subsp. eschscholzii, V. viride var. escholtzianoides
Name authority Aiton: Hort. Kew. 3: 422. (1789) (Roemer & Schultes) Breitung: Canad. Field-Naturalist 71: 49. (1957)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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