Sessileleaf bellwort
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated April 2019.
Scientific name: Uvularia sessilifolia L.
Common name(s): sessileleaf bellwort, sessile bellwort, spreading bellwort, straw-lily, merrybells, wild oat
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- early emergence, early May
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- emerging leaves
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- stem “zig-zags”
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- main stem may be branched
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- fruit, end of May
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- leaves can be yellowish, especially when senescing or in sprayed fields
Description:
– perennial
-leaves are
- alternate
- elliptic
- sessile
-4″-12″ tall forb
– generally flowers in May in ME
Habitat:
-forests
-woodlands
–deciduous and mixed evergreen deciduous forests
Natural History:
-the young leaves are edible when cooked
Source(s):
Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.
Go Botany. “Uvularia Sessilifolia L.” Uvularia Sessilifolia (Sessile-Leaved Bellwort): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/uvularia/sessilifolia/.