''Veratrum californicum'' (California corn lily, white or California false hellebore) is an extremely

poisonous plant Plants that produce toxins are referred to as poisonous plants. Plants that cause irritation on contact are also described as "poisonous". The toxins in poisonous plants affect herbivores, and deter them from consuming the plants. Plants cannot ...

native to western

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 ...

, including the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

and

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, as far north as

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and as far south as

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

; depending on latitude, it grows from near sea level to as high as 11,000 feet.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It grows 1 to 2 meters tall, with an erect, unbranched, heavily leafy stem resembling a

cornstalk Cornstalk (c. 1720? – November 10, 1777) was a Shawnee leader in the Ohio Country in the 1760s and 1770s. His name in the Shawnee language was Hokoleskwa. Little is known about his early life. He may have been born in the Province of Pennsylv ...

. It prefers quite moist soil, and can cover large areas in dense stands near streams or in wet meadows. Many inch-wide flowers cluster along the often-branched top of the stout stem; they have 6 white tepals, a green center, 6 stamens, and a 3-branched pistil (see image below). The buds are tight green spheres. The heavily veined, bright green leaves can be more than a foot long. ''Veratrum californicum'' displays

mast seeding Mast is the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts. The term derives from the Old English ''mæst'', meaning the nuts of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used historically for fattening ...

; populations bloom and seed little in most years, but in occasional years bloom and seed heavily in synchrony. The species usually blooms during midsummer from July to August. ;Varieties # ''Veratrum californicum'' var. ''californicum'' – from Washington to Durango # ''Veratrum californicum'' var. ''caudatum'' (A.Heller) C.L.Hitchc. – Idaho, Washington, Oregon, N California

Teratogenic effects

It is a source of

jervine Jervine is a steroidal alkaloid with molecular formula C27H39NO3 which is derived from the plant genus ''Veratrum''. Similar to cyclopamine, which also occurs in the genus ''Veratrum'', it is a teratogen implicated in birth defects when consumed ...

muldamine Muldamine is a phytosterol alkaloid isolated from ''Veratrum californicum''. It is the acetate ester of the piperidine steroid teinemine. See also * Veratrum * Veratridine Veratridine is a steroidal alkaloid found in plants of the lily fami ...

and

cyclopamine Cyclopamine (11-deoxojervine) is a naturally occurring chemical that belongs in the family of steroidal alkaloids. It is a teratogen isolated from the corn lily (''Veratrum californicum'') that causes fatal birth defects. It prevents the embryon ...

, teratogens which can cause prolonged gestation associated with birth defects such as

holoprosencephaly Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a cephalic disorder in which the prosencephalon (the forebrain of the embryo) fails to develop into two hemispheres, typically occurring between the 18th and 28th day of gestation. Normally, the forebrain is formed and t ...

and

cyclopia Cyclopia (named after the Greek mythology character cyclopes) is the most extreme form of holoprosencephaly and is a congenital disorder (birth defect) characterized by the failure of the embryonic prosencephalon to properly divide the orbits of ...

in animals such as sheep, horses, and other mammals that graze upon it. These substances inhibit the

hedgehog signaling pathway The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a signaling pathway that transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. Different parts of the embryo have different concentrations of hedgehog signaling proteins. The pathwa ...

Gallery

Image:Corn lilies Veratrum californicum Black Rock Pass.jpg, Swath of corn lilies in meadow Image:Corn lily Veratrum californicum leaf swirl.jpg, Leaves on a young plant Image:Veratrum californicum flowers1.jpg, Closeup of flowers

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: var. ''californicum''Flora of North AmericaWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
californicum Flora of the Western United States Flora of California Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1855 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{liliales-stub