Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Santalales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pyrularia pubera
FAMILY
Santalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about Buffalo Nut from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Read more about Buffalo-nut at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pyrularia pubera
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Pyrularia pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2015)
Pyrularia pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 060-04-001:
Pyrularia pubera FAMILY Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pyrularia pubera
COMMON NAME:
Buffalo-nut, Oil-nut
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pypu_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm140417_029
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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JK Marlow jkm150424_692693
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Calyx 5-lobed; petals absent; style short & thick, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
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JK Marlow jkm180427_1588
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm240418_8673
April Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm0405j_18
May Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_141
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
Inflorescence an erect terminal spike with greenish apetalous flowers, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm140517_808
May Transylvania County NC
Leaves thin, the veins on the lower surface raised, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_pubera_73417
May NC
)
JK Marlow s040503_e
May Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves alternate, elliptic, apple green, thin, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
JK Marlow jkm080629_050
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
The source of the primary common name requires little imagination, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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JK Marlow jkm080629_053
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0310b_12
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Fruit a pear-shaped fleshy drupe with a very acrid poisonous oil, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
JK Marlow jkm151024_564
October Greenville County SC
Blue Wall Preserve
Twigs grayish to lt brown; buds 5-12mm w several greenish imbricate scales, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm201107_8050
November Greenville County SC
Caesars Head State Park
Fall color all around, but this Buffalo-nut is still fiercely green.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pyrularia pubera
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pyrularia pubera
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Pyrularia pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2015)
Pyrularia pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 060-04-001:
Pyrularia pubera
FAMILY
Santalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pyrularia pubera
1177
Shrub
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: Mesic to dry forests, over a wide range of substrates, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains & NC Piedmont, uncommon to rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
5-lobed calyx
Petals absent
5 stamens
Inferior ovary
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p144
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p167
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p099
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p058
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p31
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p299
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p258
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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