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Common Name: Fairy Wand, Devil's Bit, Blazing Star
Scientific Name: Chamaelirium luteum
Family Name: Liliaceae
Serendipity Ranch
Columbus, North Carolina
May 5, 2002
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The plants of this species are dioecious, that is, one plant bears only female or pistillate flowers and another bears only male or staminate flowers. The staminate inflorescence of Blazing Star, with a drooping tip, is the more attractive and is shown here. It is often 4-8 inches long on a stalk 8-18 inches tall. These native perennials are found in rich, deciduous woods at scattered localities throughout the state. They range generally over most of the eastern U.S. April-June [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
The delightful common name (Fairy Wand) for this plant comes from the appearance of the infloresence, a dense, elongated cluster of little white flowers from 4"-8" long on a wand-like stalk. This species is dioecious, literally "two houses" in Greek, meaning the male and female flowers reside on separate plants. On the male plant the wand is tapered and gracefully arches, while the female plant displays a shorter, slenderer, upright version. The females are generally less numerous in a population of fairy wands. The leaves at the base of the plant are spoon-shaped and are broadest near the tips. The specific name luteum comes from the color of the male flowers which have a yellowish cast due to the yellow stamens. April-May [White, Peter, Wildflowers of the Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Gatlinburg, 1996]
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Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z