Bunchflower

(Melanthium virginicum)

 

   

 

Color photograph: Homer D. House. 1918. Wildflowers of New York.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Bunchflower (Melanthium virginicum L.)

Identification: Flowers white, numerous, arranged in a central panicle. Petals narrowing at the base giving the flower an open look. Leaves elongate, rough, most arising from near the base of the plant. Plant height 3 to 5 feet in height.

Distribution: Minnesota in the west, to New York in the east, southward to Florida and Texas.

Habitat: Bunchflower is found in meadows and wet thickets.

Flowering period: June to July.

Similar Species: Bunchflower might be confused with Fly Poison. The petals of Bunchflower are constricted at the base, but those of Fly Poison are not. The flowers of Fly Poison are more tightly arranged around the stem than those of Bunchflower.

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