Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Uvularia sessilifolia
FAMILY
Colchicaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Uvularia from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Uvularia sessilifolia
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Uvularia sessilifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-33-004:
Uvularia sessilifolia FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Oakesiella sessilifolia
COMMON NAME:
Wild-oats, Sessile-leaf Bellwort, Straw-lily
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_uvse_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0404u_08
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
One flower per stem, pedicels bractless, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
flowers of Bellwort species
)
JK Marlow jkm200403_3497
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm120505_339
May Rabun County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm250618_1148
June Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
Similar to U. puberula, but with smooth upper stems and whitish leaves, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
COMPARE
Solomon's Plume, Solomon's Seal, Twisted Stalk, and two Bellworts
)
JK Marlow jkm250618_1149
June Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
Leaves sessile, elliptical with pointed tips, 1.5-3" long, pale beneath, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
COMPARE
leaves of Bellwort species
)
JK Marlow jkm250618_1150
June Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
Rhizome elongate, with scattered, fibrous roots, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Uvularia sessilifolia
FAMILY
Colchicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Uvularia sessilifolia
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Uvularia sessilifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-33-004:
Uvularia sessilifolia
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Oakesiella sessilifolia
1575
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist hardwood forests, on slopes and mainly in bottomlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Carolina Coastal Plain) (rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Straw yellow
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals, perianth narrowly campanulate
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p275
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p117
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p185
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p046
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p156
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p132
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p340
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p270
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p162
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p037
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p370
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p370
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p435
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p009
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p253
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