''Stenanthium'' is a North American

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the tribe

Melanthieae Melanthieae is a tribe of flowering plants within the family Melanthiaceae. Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have resulted in a large-scale reassignment of many of its species to different genera; in particular the genus ''Ziga ...

of the family

Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to the ...

. Featherbells is a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

for plants in this genus.

Taxonomy

Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have resulted in number of changes to placements within this tribe. Three species were removed from the genus to ''

Anticlea In Greek mythology, Anticlea or Anticlia (; Ancient Greek: ''Ἀντίκλεια'', literally "without fame") was a queen of Ithaca as the wife of King Laërtes. Family Anticlea was the daughter of Autolycus and Amphithea. The divine trickst ...

'' and two or three (depending on whether ''S. leimanthoides'' is maintained as a separate species) added from ''

Zigadenus ''Zigadenus'' is a genus of flowering plants now containing only one species, ''Zigadenus glaberrimus'', the sandbog death camas, found in the southeastern United States from Mississippi to Virginia. Around 20 species were formerly included in th ...

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

, the deathcamases. (See also Phylogeny of Melanthieae.) Members of ''Stenanthium'', as currently circumscribed, may also be distinguished from other deathcamases by having a slender cylindrical bulb and the lack of

sarcotesta The sarcotesta is a fleshy seedcoat, a type of testa. Examples of seeds with a sarcotesta are pomegranate and some cycad seeds. The sarcotesta of pomegranate seeds consists of epidermal cells derived from the integument, and there are no aril ...

on its brown seeds. They occur in the eastern and south-central United States.

Species

Species include: *''

Stenanthium densum ''Stenanthium densum'' is a poisonous but spectacular monocot wildflower native to pine barrens of the eastern United States. It is known variously as Osceola's plume, crowpoison, or black snakeroot. '' Stenanthium leimanthoides'' is either treat ...

'' (Desr.) Zomlefer & Judd – Osceola's plume - southeastern United States from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

*'' Stenanthium diffusum'' Wofford -

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

*''

Stenanthium gramineum ''Stenanthium'' is a North American genus of flowering plants in the tribe Melanthieae of the family Melanthiaceae. Featherbells is a common name for plants in this genus. Taxonomy Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have result ...

'' (Ker Gawl.) Morong – eastern featherbells - eastern + south-central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from eastern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

north to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. *''

Stenanthium leimanthoides ''Stenanthium leimanthoides'' is a poisonous monocot wildflower native to acid montane areas of the eastern United States. It is either treated as a separate species to ''Stenanthium densum'' or as a synonym of that species. A common name is pine ...

'' (A.Gray) Zomlefer & Judd – pine barren deathcamas - eastern + south-central

from eastern

north to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

*''

Stenanthium macrum ''Stenanthium'' is a North American genus of flowering plants in the tribe Melanthieae of the family Melanthiaceae. Featherbells is a common name for plants in this genus. Taxonomy Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have result ...

'' Sorrie & Weakley – Gulf Coast, from Texas to Florida * ''

Stenanthium occidentale ''Stenanthium'' is a North American genus of flowering plants in the tribe Melanthieae of the family Melanthiaceae. Featherbells is a common name for plants in this genus. Taxonomy Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have result ...

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

— western featherbells, native to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

in northwestern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

. *''

Stenanthium tennesseense ''Stenanthium'' is a North American genus of flowering plants in the tribe Melanthieae of the family Melanthiaceae. Featherbells is a common name for plants in this genus. Taxonomy Molecular phylogenetics, Molecular phylogenetic studies in the ...

'' Sorrie & Weakley – southern Tennessee Different botanists and sources recognize different numbers of distinct species. The

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenla ...

and

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

recognize two: ''Stenanthium gramineum'' and ''Stenanthium occidentale''. Several sources recognize ''S. leimanthoides'' as a separate species.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution maps
/ref> The

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plan ...

recognized three species in 2013, treating ''S. leimanthoides'' as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''S. densum''. Plants of the World Online treats ''S. occidentale'' as a synonym of ''Anticlea occidentale''. Research by Sorrie and Weakley (2017) described two new species of ''Stenanthium'' in the southeastern United States: ''S. macrum'' and ''S. tennesseense''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q528774 Melanthiaceae Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of California Taxa named by Asa Gray Taxa named by Carl Sigismund Kunth Melanthiaceae genera