Small-petaled barren strawberry

Waldsteinia fragarioides (Michaux) Trattinnick var. parviflora (Small) Fernald

Herbs, 10–20 cm. Leaves mostly ternately compound, rarely merely deeply lobed; leaflets broadly cuneate-obovate, 3–5 cm, lateral ones asymmetric, margins commonly shallowly and irregularly lobed, surfaces sparsely hirsute. Inflorescences 3–7-flowered. Flowers 8–10 mm diam.; hypanthium obcampanulate, 2–4 mm, strigose; petals elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 2.5–4.5 mm, shorter than to barely exceeding sepals, apex often acute; carpels 3 or 4.

Flowering Mar–Apr. Woods, mountains, and piedmont; 100–400 m; Ala., Ga., Ky., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Va.

Waldsteinia parviflora closely resembles W. fragarioides but has generally smaller flowers with petals shorter than to subequal to the sepals. The possibility that W. parviflora originated as a hybrid between W. fragarioides and W. lobata should be investigated.