Introductory
SPECIES: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower 



ABBREVIATION : 
MELLAT

SYNONYMS : 
   Melanthium hybridum Walt. [6,11,14,19]
   Veratrum hybridum (Walt.) Zimmerman [8,21]


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   MELA4


COMMON NAMES : 
   slender bunchflower
   hybrid bunchflower
   crisped bunchflower


TAXONOMY : 
The scientific name for slender bunchflower is Melanthium latifolium
Desr. (Liliaceae) [1].  Most eastern United States floras [6,11,14,19]
use the synonym M. hybridum Walt., but Bodkin [1], who wrote the
monograph for the Melanthium genus in North America in 1978, argues
convincingly that this name is misapplied.  The taxonomy of slender
bunchflower is further complicated by the placement of the entire
Melanthium genus into the Veratrum genus by Zimmerman [21].  There are
no currently accepted infrataxa.


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
See OTHER STATUS

OTHER STATUS : 
Slender bunchflower was not found in 1978 in Delaware, Maryland, or
Virginia [15].  It was listed as probably extirpated in Delaware in 1979
[15]; in 1994, it was listed as extremely rare in Delaware [9].  In
1978, slender bunchflower was listed as possibly extirpated in
Tennessee, but it was rediscovered in four counties from 1981 to 1985
[2].  No existing populations of slender bunchflower are known in New
York [20].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Jennifer H. Carey, November 1994


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Carey, Jennifer, H. 1994. Melanthium latifolium. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Slender bunchflower occurs in the Appalachian Mountains from
southwestern Connecticut and southeastern New York south to northern
Georgia [1].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch


STATES : 
     CT  DE  GA  MD  NJ  NY  NC  PA  SC  TN
     VA  WV


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     BLRI  DEWA  GRSM  SHEN


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K106  Northern hardwoods
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    44  Chestnut oak


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Slender bunchflower occurs in the eastern deciduous forest biome [1].

At a Shenandoah National Park site dominated by oak (Quercus spp.) and
hickory (Carya spp.), herbaceous associates of slender bunchflower
included white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima), flypoison (Amianthium
muscitoxicum), white wood aster (Aster divaricatus), bigleaf aster (A.
macrophyllus), wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), Allegheny hawkweed
(Hieracium paniculatum), widowsfrill (Silene stellata), Atlantic
goldenrod (Solidago arguta), mountain decumbent goldenrod (S. caesia
var. curtisii), hairy goldenrod (S. hispida), and meadow zizia (Zizia
aptera).  Some slender bunchflower stalks emerged from a dense cover of
eastern hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) [1].

Slender bunchflower is found at lower elevations than Appalachian
bunchflower (Melanthium parviflorum) where populations overlap [1].

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Bunchflowers (Melanthium spp.) are poisonous [6].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Slender bunchflower is a native, bulbous, perennial herb with an open
terminal panicle on a stem that grows 1.6 to 5 feet (0.5-1.6 m) tall.
The leaves are mostly basal and are 0.4 to 2.8 inches (1-7 cm) wide. The
fruit is a capsule.  Seeds are winged.  Underground vegetative parts
consist of a 0.2- to 0.7-inch (0.6-1.7 cm) diameter bulb composed of the
thickened bases of basal leaves.  Attached to the bulb base is a short
rhizome.  Roots arise from the peripheral area of the bulb at the
junction with the rhizome.  There are often at least two series of
lateral roots which are radially segmented and branch distally [1].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Bunchflowers flower irregularly.  Bodkin [1] estimated that less than 20
percent of bunchflower plants in the Appalachian Mountains flower in any
given year.  During 5 years of observations of a slender bunchflower
population in Shenandoah National Park, only 7 of approximately 50
plants flowered [1].

The winged seeds are presumably dispersed by wind.  

In a germination experiment, no slender bunchflower seeds germinated
under a variety of conditions although some dissected seeds contained
embryos [1].

Bodkin [1] suggested that slender bunchflower reproduction may be
primarily vegetative.


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Slender bunchflower occurs on slopes and in ravines, gorges, and coves.
It grows on rich, moist sites on rocky, well-drained soils.  Although
soils may appear dry, the roots of slender bunchflower usually penetrate
to moister subsoils [1].  Slender bunchflower occurred on a rock outcrop
with seepage in the Thompson River Gorge in South Carolina [18].
Slender bunchflower generally occurs from 1,000 to 5,500 feet (305-1,677
m) elevation [1].  It is restricted to areas of high elevation in
eastern Tennessee [10].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Slender bunchflower is shade tolerant.  It occurs in dense, shaded
habitats [1] and is not reported as occurring on open, sunny sites.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Slender bunchflower flowers from July to August, and fruits ripen
September through October [1,11,19].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Information on the fire ecology of slender bunchflower is lacking in the
literature.  Slender bunchflower probably survives most fires because
its bulb and growing points are located beneath the soil surface.
However, it may not thrive on sites where cover is completely removed by
severe fire.


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Geophyte, growing points deep in soil

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Slender bunchflower is probably top-killed by fire.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Slender bunchflower probably regenerates after fire with vegetative
growth from bulbs and rhizomes.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Bodkin, Norlyn L. 1978. A revision of Northern American Melanthium L.
       (Liliaceae). College Park, MD: University of Maryland. 142 p.
       Dissertation.  [23777]

 .  Churchill, John A.; White, Peter S. 1986. Melanthium latifolium in
       Tennessee. Castanea. 51(1): 68-69.  [23814]

 .  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

 .  Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections
       supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p.
       (Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny
       Series; vol. 2).  [14935]

 .  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 .  Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of
       northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New
       York Botanical Garden. 910 p.  [20329]

 .  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
       of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
       American Geographical Society. 77 p.  [1384]

 .  Kupchan, S. Morris; Zimmerman, James H.; Afonso, Adriano. 1961. The
       alkaloids and taxonomy of Veratrum and related genera. Lloydia. 24(1):
       1-26.  [23815]

 .  McAvoy, William, compiler and ed. 1994. Rare native plants of Delware.
       Dover, DE: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
       Control, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Inventory.
       29 p.  [22965]

.  McGilliard, Eleanor. 1955. The family Liliaceae in Tennessee. Journal of
       the Tennessee Academy of Science. 30: 19-26.  [23813]

.  Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of
       the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of
       North Carolina Press. 1183 p.  [7606]

.  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

.  Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
       Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
       Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p.  [20090]

.  Strausbaugh, P. D.; Core, Earl L. 1977. Flora of West Virginia. 2nd ed.
       Morgantown, WV: Seneca Books, Inc. 1079 p.  [23213]

.  Tucker, Arthur O.; Dill, Norman H.; Broome, C. Rose; [and others]. 1979.
       Rare and endangered vascular plant species in Delaware. Newton Corner,
       MA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 89 p. 
       [16518]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1994. Plants
       of the U.S.--alphabetical listing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 954 p.  [23104]

.  U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey. [n.d.]. NP
       Flora [Data base]. Davis, CA: U.S. Department of the Interior, National
       Biological Survey.  [23119]

.  Ware, Donna M. Eggers. 1973. Floristic survey of the Thompson River
       watershed. Castanea. 38(4): 349-377.  [23494]

.  Wofford, B. Eugene. 1989. Guide to the vascular plants of the Blue
       Ridge. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 384 p.  [12908]

.  Young, Stephen M., editor. 1992. New York state rare plant status list.
       August 1992. Latham, NY: Department of Environmental Conservation,
       Divisison of Lands and Forests, Natural Heritage Program. 79 p.  [22563]

.  Zimmerman, J. H. 1958. A monograph of Veratrum. Madison, WI: University
       of Wisconsin. [Pages unknown]. Dissertation.  [23820]

Related categories for Species: Melanthium latifolium | Slender Bunchflower