Index of Species Information
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| Image courtesy of USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 1: 494. |
Introductory
SPECIES: Veratrum hybridum
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Carey, Jennifer, H. 1994. Veratrum hybridum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/verhyb/all.html [].
Revisions: On 22 May 2019, the scientific name of this species was changed in FEIS
from: Melanthium latifolium
to: Veratrum hybridum. The image was also added.
ABBREVIATION:
VERHYB
SYNONYMS:
Melanthium hybridum Walt. [6,11,14,19]
Melanthium latifolium Desr. [1]
NRCS PLANT CODE:
VEHE
COMMON NAMES:
slender bunchflower
hybrid bunchflower
crisped bunchflower
TAXONOMY:
The scientific name of slender bunchflower is Veratrum hybridum (Walter)
J.H. Zimmerman ex Zomlefer [8,16,21] (Liliaceae).
LIFE FORM:
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
None
OTHER STATUS:
Slender bunchflower was not found in 1978 in Delaware, Maryland, or
Virginia [15]. It was listed as probably extirpated in Delaware in 1979
[15]; in 1994, it was listed as extremely rare in Delaware [9]. In
1978, slender bunchflower was listed as possibly extirpated in
Tennessee, but it was rediscovered in four counties from 1981 to 1985
[2]. No existing populations of slender bunchflower are known in New
York [20].
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Veratrum hybridum
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
Slender bunchflower occurs in the Appalachian Mountains from
southwestern Connecticut and southeastern New York south to northern
Georgia [1].
ECOSYSTEMS:
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
STATES:
CT DE GA MD NJ NY NC PA SC TN
VA WV
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS:
None
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
SAF COVER TYPES:
44 Chestnut oak
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:
Slender bunchflower occurs in the eastern deciduous forest biome [1].
At a Shenandoah National Park site dominated by oak (Quercus spp.) and
hickory (Carya spp.), herbaceous associates of slender bunchflower
included white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima), flypoison (Amianthium
muscitoxicum), white wood aster (Aster divaricatus), bigleaf aster (A.
macrophyllus), wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), Allegheny hawkweed
(Hieracium paniculatum), widowsfrill (Silene stellata), Atlantic
goldenrod (Solidago arguta), mountain decumbent goldenrod (S. caesia
var. curtisii), hairy goldenrod (S. hispida), and meadow zizia (Zizia
aptera). Some slender bunchflower stalks emerged from a dense cover of
eastern hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) [1].
Slender bunchflower is found at lower elevations than Appalachian
bunchflower (Melanthium parviflorum) where populations overlap [1].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Veratrum hybridum
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
Bunchflowers (Melanthium spp.) are poisonous [6].
PALATABILITY:
No information was available on this topic.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE: No information was available on this topic.
COVER VALUE:
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
No information was available on this topic.
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
No information was available on this topic.
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
No information was available on this topic.
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Veratrum hybridum
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Slender bunchflower is a native, bulbous, perennial herb with an open
terminal panicle on a stem that grows 1.6 to 5 feet (0.5-1.6 m) tall.
The leaves are mostly basal and are 0.4 to 2.8 inches (1-7 cm) wide. The
fruit is a capsule. Seeds are winged. Underground vegetative parts
consist of a 0.2- to 0.7-inch (0.6-1.7 cm) diameter bulb composed of the
thickened bases of basal leaves. Attached to the bulb base is a short
rhizome. Roots arise from the peripheral area of the bulb at the
junction with the rhizome. There are often at least two series of
lateral roots which are radially segmented and branch distally [1].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM:
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES:
Bunchflowers flower irregularly. Bodkin [1] estimated that less than 20
percent of bunchflower plants in the Appalachian Mountains flower in any
given year. During 5 years of observations of a slender bunchflower
population in Shenandoah National Park, only 7 of approximately 50
plants flowered [1].
The winged seeds are presumably dispersed by wind.
In a germination experiment, no slender bunchflower seeds germinated
under a variety of conditions although some dissected seeds contained
embryos [1].
Bodkin [1] suggested that slender bunchflower reproduction may be
primarily vegetative.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Slender bunchflower occurs on slopes and in ravines, gorges, and coves.
It grows on rich, moist sites on rocky, well-drained soils. Although
soils may appear dry, the roots of slender bunchflower usually penetrate
to moister subsoils [1]. Slender bunchflower occurred on a rock outcrop
with seepage in the Thompson River Gorge in South Carolina [18].
Slender bunchflower generally occurs from 1,000 to 5,500 feet (305-1,677
m) elevation [1]. It is restricted to areas of high elevation in
eastern Tennessee [10].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:
Slender bunchflower is shade tolerant. It occurs in dense, shaded
habitats [1] and is not reported as occurring on open, sunny sites.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Slender bunchflower flowers from July to August, and fruits ripen
September through October [1,11,19].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Veratrum hybridum
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:
Information on the fire ecology of slender bunchflower is lacking in the
literature. Slender bunchflower probably survives most fires because
its bulb and growing points are located beneath the soil surface.
However, it may not thrive on sites where cover is completely removed by
severe fire.
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:
Geophyte, growing points deep in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Veratrum hybridum
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
Slender bunchflower is probably top-killed by fire.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:
Slender bunchflower probably regenerates after fire with vegetative
growth from bulbs and rhizomes.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
No information was available on this topic.
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Veratrum hybridum
REFERENCES:
1. Bodkin, Norlyn L. 1978. A revision of Northern American Melanthium L.
(Liliaceae). College Park, MD: University of Maryland. 142 p.
Dissertation. [23777]
2. Churchill, John A.; White, Peter S. 1986. Melanthium latifolium in
Tennessee. Castanea. 51(1): 68-69. [23814]
3. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
4. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections
supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p.
(Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny
Series; vol. 2). [14935]
5. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
6. Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of
northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New
York Botanical Garden. 910 p. [20329]
7. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
8. Kupchan, S. Morris; Zimmerman, James H.; Afonso, Adriano. 1961. The
alkaloids and taxonomy of Veratrum and related genera. Lloydia. 24(1):
1-26. [23815]
9. McAvoy, William, compiler and ed. 1994. Rare native plants of Delaware.
Dover, DE: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Inventory.
29 p. [22965]
10. McGilliard, Eleanor. 1955. The family Liliaceae in Tennessee. Journal of
the Tennessee Academy of Science. 30: 19-26. [23813]
11. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of
the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of
North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]
12. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
13. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
14. Strausbaugh, P. D.; Core, Earl L. 1977. Flora of West Virginia. 2nd ed.
Morgantown, WV: Seneca Books, Inc. 1079 p. [23213]
15. Tucker, Arthur O.; Dill, Norman H.; Broome, C. Rose; [and others]. 1979.
Rare and endangered vascular plant species in Delaware. Newton Corner,
MA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 89 p.
[16518]
16. USDA, NRCS. 2019. The PLANTS Database, [Online]. U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Plant Data
Team, Greensboro, NC (Producer). Available: https://plants.usda.gov/.
[34262]
17. USDI, National Biological Survey. [n.d.]. NP Flora [Data base]. Davis,
CA: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey. [23119]
18. Ware, Donna M. Eggers. 1973. Floristic survey of the Thompson River
watershed. Castanea. 38(4): 349-377. [23494]
19. Wofford, B. Eugene. 1989. Guide to the vascular plants of the Blue
Ridge. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 384 p. [12908]
20. Young, Stephen M., editor. 1992. New York state rare plant status list.
August 1992. Latham, NY: Department of Environmental Conservation,
Division of Lands and Forests, Natural Heritage Program. 79 p. [22563]
21. Zimmerman, J. H. 1958. A monograph of Veratrum. Madison, WI: University
of Wisconsin. [Pages unknown]. Dissertation. [23820]
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