Mitella diphylla
| Mitella diphylla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mitella diphylla from the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, NC | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Saxifragaceae |
| Genus: | Mitella |
| Species: | M. diphylla |
| Binomial name | |
| Mitella diphylla L. | |
Mitella diphylla (twoleaf miterwort,[1] two-leaved mitrewort,[2] or bishop's cap)[3] is a clump forming, open woodland plant native to eastern North America.
Description
Miterwort grows from a rhizomatous root system with fibrous roots. Leaves are coarsely toothed with 3-5 shallow lobes.[4] Most leaves are basal, and there is one opposite pair of stemless leaves on each flower stalk.
Tiny flowers with finely divided, lacy white petals are produced in mid-spring in racemes on stems growing from 20 to 50 centimetres (7.9 to 19.7 in) tall.
The seeds are tiny, 1.2–1.6 mm,[4] produced in small green cups, formed from the sepals of the flower, and when ripe are shiny and black.[5] They are spread when raindrops hit the cups and splash the seeds out.[3]
Ecology
The flowers produce both pollen and nectar. Due to their small size, they are mainly visited by small bees and flies: for instance, Lasioglossum sweat bees, small carpenter bees and hoverflies.[6]
Cultivation
This species is grown as an ornamental plant in shade gardens. It prefers wet-mesic to dry soil and partial shade.[6]
References
- ↑ "Mitella diphylla". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ↑ "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- 1 2 Hilty, John (2016). "Bishop's Cap". Illinois Wildflowers.
- 1 2 "Mitella diphylla ". Flora of North America (FNA). Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 26 April 2016 – via eFloras.org.
- ↑ Katy Chayka (2016). "Mitella diphylla (Two-leaf Miterwort)". MinnesotaWildflowers.info.
- 1 2 Heather Holm (2014). Pollinators on Native Plants. Minnetonka, MN: Pollinator Press. pp. 110–111.
- Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
- Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.