Stenanthium leimanthoides

Common Names

Pinebarrens Death-Camas, Featherbells, Death Camas

Summary

Pinebarrens Death-camas is a bulbous geophyte perennial of the Melanthiaceae native to the eastern United States, with a range from New York to northwestern Virginia and including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. It grows to about 3–5 ft tall on unbranched stems, with basal linear leaves 8–22 in long; an inflorescence in a terminal panicle bearing white to greenish-white flowers, each with six spreading tepals and a yellow gland at the base; fruits are capsules. Blooms July–August, with fruits in September–October, and habitats include rocky outcrops, shrub balds, seepage areas, and fens/bogs in the Coastal Plain; the plant is poisonous.

Cultivation and uses: hardy, clump-forming; propagates by division or seed; seeds sown in moist, well-drained soil and kept moist until germination; commonly grown as an ornamental plant in gardens; leaves and roots have traditional medicinal uses to treat ailments; caution warranted as the plant is poisonous due to the toxin zygacine.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

3-5 feet

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally partial shade.

Soil Type

Moist sandy soil

Soil Drainage

Moist, well-drained soil.

Soil pH

Acidic soils (pH below 7)

Bloom Color

White

Bloom Time

Summer

Foliage Color

Whitish coating

Fall Foliage Color

Unknown

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Rapid

Seasons of Interest

Summer and Fall

Propagation Methods

Seeds and Division