White clintonia, speckled wood-lily

Convallaria umbellulata Michaux, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 202. 1803; Clintonia allegheniensis Harned; Xeniatrum umbellulatum (Michaux) Small

Plants 2.7–6 dm; rhizomes short, thick. Cauline leaves 3–4; blade dark green, oblong to obovate-elliptic, 18–30 × 4.5–8 cm. Inflorescences in terminal clusters, 10–25(–30)-flowered; bract 1, foliaceous. Flowers: tepals white to greenish white, often spotted purplish brown or green distally, ovoid-obovate, 5.5–8 × 2.7–4 mm; filaments 5.5–7 mm; anthers short-oblong, 3.5–5.5 mm. Berries black, globose to ellipsoid, 2–4-seeded, 6–8 mm. Seeds 3–4 mm. 2n = 28.

Flowering early May--late Jun. Rich cove hardwood forests; 200--1000 m; Ga., Ky., Md., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tenn., Va., W.Va.

Clintonia umbellulata and C. borealis are allopatric in the southern Appalachians (P. P. Gunther 1972). A putative hybrid between the two, C. allegheniensis Harned (J. E. Harned 1931) is not recognized here and is regarded as a mere fruit-color variant of C. umbellulata (F. H. Utech 1973). Isozyme evidence supports this conclusion (M. T. Blain 1997).