Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Yellowroot from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-01-001:
Xanthorhiza simplicissima FAMILY Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Xanthorrhiza simplicissima
COMMON NAME:
Yellowroot
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_xasi_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm0403o_31
March Greenville County SC
Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
Leaves alternate, clustered together at top of a usually unbranched erect stem, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm0503b_07
March Greenville County SC
Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0503b_28
March Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
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Keith Bradley kab_x_simplicissima_0548
April Henderson County NC
Pisgah National Forest
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Keith Bradley kab_x_simplicissima_0561
April Henderson County NC
Pisgah National Forest
Purple flowers in drooping racemes 2-3" long, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
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Steve Marlow snm100404_151
April Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
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Steve Marlow snm100404_153
April Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Petals are absent. There are 5 maroon, ovate, acuminate sepals, 2-5mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm0305r_22
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
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JK Marlow jkm160502_081
May Macon County NC
Twigs moderately stout, lenticellate, with bright yellow inner bark, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow jkm0511c_35
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-01-001:
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Xanthorrhiza simplicissima
1679
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Streambanks and riverbanks, less typically in moist rocky forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in NC Coastal Plain, rare in Coastal Plain of GA & SC)
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 3-5 leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
Maroon
5 sepals
Petals absent
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Yellowish
Aggregate of follicles
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p266
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p123
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p137
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p058
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p320
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p070
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p309
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p044
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p065
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p13
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p322
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p381
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p044
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p266