Medeola

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Medeola
Medeola virginiana 4055.JPG
Flowering
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Subfamily: Lilioideae
Tribe: Medeoleae
Genus: Medeola
L.
Species:
M. virginiana
Binomial name
Medeola virginiana
L.
Medeola virginiana NA-dist-map.png
USDA distribution map [2]
Synonyms [3]
  • Gyromia acuminataRaf.
  • Gyromia cuneataRaf.
  • Gyromia virginica(Christm.) Nutt.
  • Gyromia virginica var. pictaNutt.
  • Medeola verticillifoliaStokes
  • Medeola virginicaChristm.

Medeola virginiana, known as Indian cucumber, [2] [4] cucumber root, [5] or Indian cucumber-root, [6] [7] [8] is an eastern North American plant species in the lily family, Liliaceae. [2] It is the only currently recognized plant species in the genus Medeola. [9] It grows in the understory of forests. The plant bears edible rhizomes that have a mild cucumber-like flavor.

Contents

Description

Medeola virginiana shoots consist of two tiers of whorled leaves. The lower tier typically bears between five and nine (occasionally up to 12) lance shaped leaves. The upper tier bears three to five ovate leaves. The leaves have an entire (smooth) margin. Some individuals lack a second tier of whorled leaves. The second tier is produced when the plant flowers. When two-tiered, plants grow to 30 in (76 cm) high. The flowers have yellowish green tepals and appear in late spring. The fruit is a dark blue to purple, inedible berry above the top tier of leaves. [9] [10] [11] Indian cucumber-root shoots arise each spring from an overwintering tuberlike structure. This structure produces a series of horizontal rhizomes at 45 degree angles which produces a clonal colony of plants in an octagonal pattern. [12]

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus Medeola was formerly associated with the lilioid genera Trillium and Paris , which are now placed in the tribe Paridae of the family Melanthiaceae in the order Liliales. Armen Takhtajan separated Medeola from Trillium and Paris, and placed it in its own family, Medeolaceae, which he erected in 1987, [9] based on a description that had been published in 1879 by Sereno Watson.[ citation needed ] The genera Medeola and Clintonia now constitute the tribe Medeoleae of the subfamily Lilioideae in the family Liliaceae, as narrowly defined in the APG IV system.[ citation needed ] Molecular, morphological, embryological, and cytological evidence supports a sister relationship between Medeola and Clintonia. The Flora of North America includes both of these in the family Liliaceae.

Some species of Asparagus were formerly placed in the genus Medeola, including: [3]

Distribution and habitat

Medeola virginiana, Quebec, Canada Medeola virginiana 004.jpg
Medeola virginiana, Quebec, Canada

Medeola virginiana is found from Ontario to Nova Scotia, south to Florida, and Louisiana. [3] It grows in rich, moist forests, thickets, and woodlands. [9] [13]

It is listed as an endangered plant in Florida and in Illinois. [2]

Uses

This plant produces a crisp, edible tuber that smells and tastes like garden cucumber; [14] it can be washed and eaten raw or cooked. [15] Iroquois used the plant as an anticonvulsant and pediatric aid. [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Trillium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Trillium is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. Trillium species are native to temperate regions of North America and Asia, with the greatest diversity of species found in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.

<i>Trillium erectum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium erectum, the red trillium, also known as wake robin, purple trillium, bethroot, or stinking benjamin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. The plant takes its common name "wake robin" by analogy with the European robin, which has a red breast heralding spring. Likewise Trillium erectum is a spring ephemeral plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the forests in which it lives. It is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada from northern Georgia to Quebec and New Brunswick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liliaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in order Liliales, including lilies

The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair amount of morphological diversity despite genetic similarity. Common characteristics include large flowers with parts arranged in threes: with six colored or patterned petaloid tepals arranged in two whorls, six stamens and a superior ovary. The leaves are linear in shape, with their veins usually arranged parallel to the edges, single and arranged alternating on the stem, or in a rosette at the base. Most species are grown from bulbs, although some have rhizomes. First described in 1789, the lily family became a paraphyletic "catch-all" (wastebasket) group of lilioid monocots that did not fit into other families and included a great number of genera now included in other families and in some cases in other orders. Consequently, many sources and descriptions labelled "Liliaceae" deal with the broader sense of the family.

<i>Asparagus</i> (genus) Genus of flowering plants

Asparagus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Asparagoideae. It comprises up to 300 species. Most are evergreen long-lived perennial plants growing from the understory as lianas, bushes or climbing plants. The best-known species is the edible Asparagus officinalis, commonly referred to as just asparagus. Some other members of the genus, such as Asparagus densiflorus, are grown as ornamental plants.

<i>Prunus virginiana</i> Species of plant

Prunus virginiana, commonly called bitter-berry, chokecherry, Virginia bird cherry, and western chokecherry, is a species of bird cherry native to North America.

<i>Clintonia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Clintonia is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family Liliaceae. Plants of the genus are distributed across the temperate regions of North America and eastern Asia, in the mesic understory of deciduous or coniferous forests. The genus, first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1818, was named for DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), a naturalist and politician from the U.S. state of New York. For this reason, plants of the genus are commonly known as Clinton's lily. The common name bluebead refer to the distinctive fruit of members of the genus. Since fruit color varies somewhat across species, the common name bead lily is used as well.

<i>Clintonia borealis</i> Species of flowering plant

Clintonia borealis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. The specific epithet borealis means "of the north," which alludes to the fact that the species tends to thrive in the boreal forests of eastern Canada and northeastern United States.

<i>Maianthemum racemosum</i> Species of flowering plant

Maianthemum racemosum, the treacleberry, feathery false lily of the valley, false Solomon's seal, Solomon's plume or false spikenard, is a species of flowering plant native to North America. It is a common, widespread plant with numerous common names and synonyms, known from every US state except Hawaii, and from every Canadian province and territory, as well as from Mexico.

<i>Trillium luteum</i> Species of plant

Trillium luteum, the yellow trillium or yellow wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a closely-related group of sessile-flowered trilliums. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States, especially in and around the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

<i>Trillium flexipes</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium flexipes, known as the nodding wakerobin, bent trillium, or drooping trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found from Minnesota to Ohio, south to Tennessee, with isolated populations in New York, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and other states. It is an endangered species in Ontario and possibly extirpated in North Carolina.

<i>Asparagus asparagoides</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae

Asparagus asparagoides, commonly known as bridal creeper, bridal-veil creeper, gnarboola, smilax or smilax asparagus, is a herbaceous climbing plant of the family Asparagaceae native to eastern and southern Africa. Sometimes grown as an ornamental plant, it has become a serious environmental weed in Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Trillium cuneatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium cuneatum, the little sweet betsy, also known as whip-poor-will flower, large toadshade, purple toadshade, and bloody butcher, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a subgroup of the sessile-flowered trilliums. It is native to the southeastern United States but is especially common in a region that extends from southern Kentucky through central Tennessee to northern Alabama. In its native habitat, this perennial plant flowers from early March to late April. It is the largest of the eastern sessile-flowered trilliums.

<i>Trillium sessile</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium sessile is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The specific epithet sessile means "attached without a distinct stalk", an apparent reference to its stalkless flower. It is commonly known as toadshade or toad trillium. It is also called sessile trillium or sessile-flowered wake-robin, however it is not the only member of the genus with a sessile flower.

<i>Trillium stamineum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium stamineum, the twisted trillium, also known as the Blue Ridge wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Its natural habitat is calcareous woodlands.

<i>Trillium sulcatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium sulcatum is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Erectum group, a group of species typified by Trillium erectum. The specific name sulcatum means "furrowed, grooved, or sulcate", which describes the tips of the sepals. It is most abundant on the Cumberland Plateau in central Tennessee and eastern Kentucky where it blooms in April and May. The species is commonly known as the southern red trillium or furrowed wakerobin.

<i>Trillium albidum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium albidum is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is the only trillium characterized by a stalkless white flower. The species is endemic to the western United States, ranging from central California through Oregon to southwestern Washington. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it is often confused with a white-flowered form of Trillium chloropetalum. In northern Oregon and southwestern Washington, it has a smaller, less conspicuous flower.

<i>Trillium petiolatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium petiolatum, the Idaho trillium, also known as the long-petioled trillium or round-leaved trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to the northwestern United States, in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The type specimen for this species was gathered by Meriwether Lewis in 1806 along the Clearwater River during the return trip of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

<i>Trillium angustipetalum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium angustipetalum, with the common name is narrowpetal wakerobin, is a species of Trillium, plants which may be included within the Liliaceae or the newer family Melanthiaceae.

<i>Trillium kurabayashii</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium kurabayashii is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The species is endemic to the western United States, occurring in extreme southwestern Oregon, northwestern California, and the Sierra Nevada of northern California. It was first described by John Daniel Freeman in 1975. The specific epithet kurabayashii honors Masataka Kurabayashi, a Japanese cytologist and population geneticist who first postulated the taxon’s existence. It is commonly known as the giant purple wakerobin, a reference to its conspicuously large, dark purple-red flower, one of the largest of any sessile-flowered trillium.

<i>Trillium maculatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium maculatum, the spotted wakerobin or spotted trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a closely-related group of sessile-flowered trilliums. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States, ranging across Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and northern Florida.

References

  1. "Medeola virginiana". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Medeola virginiana at United States Department of Agriculture plants profile
  3. 1 2 3 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. "Medeola virginiana". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  5. "Cucumber root — Medeola virginiana". Nomad Seed Project. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. Weakley, Alan S. (2018), Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, working draft of 20 August 2018, University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  7. Medeola virginiana at Connecticut Botanical Society
  8. Brouillet L, Desmet P, Coursol F, Meades SJ, Favreau M, Anions M, Bélisle P, Gendreau C, Shorthouse D, et al. (2010). "Medeola virginiana Linnaeus". Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN). Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Utech, Frederick H. (2002). "Medeola". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 23 October 2019 via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  10. Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 339.
  11. Gleason, H. A. & A.J. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (ed. 2) i–910. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.
  12. Cook, Robert (1988). "Growth in Medeola Virginiana Clones: I. Field Observations". American Journal of Botany. 75 (5): 725–31. doi:10.2307/2444204. JSTOR   2444204. PMID   30139089.
  13. Wildflowers of the Southeastern U.S., Indian Cucumber (Medeola virginiana)
  14. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Peterson, Roger Tory Peterson
  15. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 136. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.
  16. Moerman, Daniel (1986). Medicinal Plants of Native America. University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.