Difference between revisions of "Amianthium muscitoxicum"

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==Description== <!-- Basic life history facts such as annual/perrenial, monoecious/dioecious, root morphology, seed type, etc. -->
 
==Description== <!-- Basic life history facts such as annual/perrenial, monoecious/dioecious, root morphology, seed type, etc. -->
''Amianthium muscitoxicum'' is a monoecious perennial forb/herb.<ref name="USDA"/> It has narrow elongated leaves and reaches lengths of 12-24 in (30-61 cm). Flowers are initially white, but turn a bronzy-green, and occur in dense showy racemes.<ref name="Ladybird">Plant database: ''Amianthium muscitoxicum''. (21 February 2018) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AMMU</ref>
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''Amianthium muscitoxicum'' is a monoecious perennial forb/herb.<ref name="USDA"/> It has narrow elongated leaves and reaches lengths of 12-24 in (30-61 cm). Flowers are initially white, but turn a bronzy-green, and occur in dense showy racemes. All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing a very toxic alkaloid.<ref name="Ladybird">Plant database: ''Amianthium muscitoxicum''. (21 February 2018) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AMMU</ref>
  
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==

Revision as of 11:18, 21 February 2018

Amianthium muscitoxicum
Amianthium muscitoxicum AFP.jpg
Photo by Atlas of Florida Plants Database
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida - Moncots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Amianthium
Species: A. muscitoxicum
Binomial name
Amianthium muscitoxicum
(Walter) A. Gray
AMIA MUSC DIST.JPG
Natural range of Amianthium muscitoxicum from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common Name: fly-poison[1][2]

Taxonomic Notes

Synonyms: A. muscaetoxicum;[1] Chrosperma muscaetoxicum; Zigadenus muscitoxicus;[1][2]

Description

Amianthium muscitoxicum is a monoecious perennial forb/herb.[2] It has narrow elongated leaves and reaches lengths of 12-24 in (30-61 cm). Flowers are initially white, but turn a bronzy-green, and occur in dense showy racemes. All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing a very toxic alkaloid.[3]

Distribution

This species occurs from southern New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Oklahoma, southward to the Florida panhandle, Mississippi, and Arizona.[1]

Ecology

Habitat

A. muscitoxicum occurs from 5-1600 m in elevation across a wide variety of mesic to dry forests, pine savannas, sandhills, and meadows.[1]

Phenology

In the Southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States, flowering occurs from May through July and fruiting from July through September.[1]

Use by animals

Humans use it to kill flies by taking the pulp from crushed bulbs and mixing it with sugar.[3]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Weakley AS (2015) Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 USDA NRCS (2016) The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 21 February 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Plant database: Amianthium muscitoxicum. (21 February 2018) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AMMU