''Xerophyllum asphodeloides'' is a
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n species of flowering plants in the
Melanthiaceae known by the common names turkey beard, eastern turkeybeard, beartongue, grass-leaved helonias, and mountain asphodel. It is native to the eastern
United States, where it occurs in the southern
Appalachian Mountains from
Virginia to
Alabama, and also in the
Pine Barrens of
New Jersey.
[''Xerophyllum asphodeloides''.]
.[''Xerophyllum asphodeloides''.]
NatureServe.[Gleason, H. A. & A.J. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (ed. 2) i–910. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.]
This species is a
rhizomatous perennial herb growing up to 1.5 meters tall. The leaves are threadlike to linear and have serrated edges. They grow up to 50 centimeters long. The
inflorescence is a long
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
of flowers with six cream-white
tepals. The fruit is a capsule.
[''Xerophyllum asphodeloides''.]
Flora of North America.
Associated species may include ''
Quercus prinus'' (chestnut oak), ''
Quercus marilandica'' (blackjack oak), ''
Pinus echinata'' (shortleaf pine), ''
Quercus stellata'' (post oak), ''
Sassafras albidum'' (sassafras), ''
Pinus rigida'' (pitch pine), ''
Aster dumosus'' (aster), ''
Aster paternus'' (white-topped aster), ''
Cypripedium acaule'' (pink lady's-slipper), ''
Polygonella articulata'' (jointweed),
''Solidago odora'' var. ''odora'' (sweet goldenrod),
''Solidago puberula'' var. ''puberula'' (goldenrod), ''
Trichostema dichotomum'' (blue curls), ''
Gaylussacia baccata
''Gaylussacia baccata'', the black huckleberry, is a common huckleberry found throughout a wide area of eastern North America.
Distribution
The plant is native to Eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region, the Midwestern and Northeastern Unit ...
'' (black huckleberry), ''
Hudsonia ericoides'' (golden heather), ''
Hudsonia montana'' (mountain heather), ''
Ilex glabra'' (inkberry), ''
Kalmia angustifolia'' (sheep laurel), ''
Leiophyllum buxifolium
''Kalmia buxifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae known by the common name sandmyrtle, or sand-myrtle. It is native to the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States, where it has a disjunct distribution, occurring in ...
'' (sand myrtle), ''
Lyonia mariana'' (staggerbush), ''
Myrica caroliniensis
''Myrica caroliniensis'' is a shrub or small tree native to the coast and coastal plains of southeastern North America. Its common names include bayberry, southern bayberry, pocosin bayberry, and evergreen bayberry. It sees uses in the garden an ...
'' (bayberry), ''
Pyxidanthera barbulata
''Pyxidanthera barbulata'', the flowering pixiemoss, is a species of flowering plant in the family Diapensiaceae. It is native to the eastern United States, occurring on the coast from Long Island to New Jersey and Virginia to South Carolina. '' (pyxie-moss), ''
Quercus ilicifolia'' (bear oak), ''
Rhus copallinum
''Rhus copallinum'' (''Rhus copallina'' is also used but, this is not consistent with the rules of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy), the winged sumac, shining sumac, dwarf sumac or flameleaf sumac, is a species of flowering pl ...
'' (winged sumac), ''
Vaccinium corymbosum'' (highbush blueberry), and ''
Vaccinium pallidum
''Vaccinium pallidum'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common names hillside blueberry, Blue Ridge blueberry, late lowbush blueberry, and early lowbush blueberry. It is native to central Canada (Ontario) and the c ...
'' (hillside blueberry).
[
The plant is most common in New Jersey and Virginia. It is less common throughout the rest of its range. It is threatened by the loss and fragmentation of its habitat and fire suppression.][
]
References
External links
Center for Plant Conservation, National Collection of Imperiled Plants, Plant ProfileLady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center, University of TexasSoutheastern FloraName That Plant, Native & Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas & Georgia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3570932
Melanthiaceae
Flora of the Eastern United States