Goldthread

(Coptis groenlandica)

 

   

 

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.

 

Goldthread (Coptis groenlandica (Oeder) Fern.)

Identification: Flowers white with 5 large petal-like sepals. Petals small and club-like. Flowers on separate flower stalks. Leaves evergreen, divided into 3 rounded leaflets. Plants connected by a series of bright yellow "roots". Plant 3 to 6 inches in height.

Distribution: Eastern Canada southward to Minnesota in the west to the mountains of North Carolina in the east

Habitat: Goldthread is found in cool, damp woods or bogs.

Flowering period: May to July.

Similar Species: The bright yellow runners connecting plants and the evergreen leaves are characteristic for this species.

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