Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants

Class: Liliopsida -- monocots

Order: Liliales

Family: Liliaceae -- lily

Variety: The Palouse phase is var. californicum.

Common Name: California false hellebore

Species Code: VECA2

Origin: Native to moist to wet meadows and riparian areas from Washington to California and east to Montana and New Mexico.

Rare: no

Form: forb, perennial, 1.5-2 meters tall, glabrous below, usually tomentose above, especially in the inflorescence, stem simple.

Duration: perennial

Longevity: long-lived

Habitat Type: wetland

Wetland Indicator Status: FACW+

Leaves: alternate, numerous, sheathing, ovate to broadly elliptic, 20-30 cm long and 10-20 cm wide, reduced and lanceolate to lance-linear upward, veins prominent.

Mature height: 40-80 inches

Flowers: numerous, crowded, borne in a dense, branched panicle 3-70 cm long; perianth white or green-tinged especially basally; tepals 6, lanceolate to elliptic, clawed at the base, 10-17 mm long, entire or slightly erose, glabrous or slightly lanate, with 2 glands near the base.

Flower color: white

Bloom: June

Fruit: capsule, 2-3 cm long, glabrous, narrowly ovoid; seeds tan, flat, winged, 10-15 mm long.

Characteristics:
V. speciosum in St. John 1963.
Reproduces sexually by seed.
365,000 seeds/lb (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2009).
Perennating organ is a thick vertical rhizome.
n=16 (Baldwin et al 2004).
Plants are mostly andromonoecious, having perfect flowers in the upper portion of the inflorescence and staminate flowers on the lower portion.
Plants, especially the roots, contain alkaloids which are toxic and teratogenic. Native peoples used the plants medicinally.
Fruit is a capsule.
Large mammals may browse the plants (Mohlenbrock undated).

Sun requirement: highly shade tolerant, also grows in full sun

Soil moisture: moist to wet

Precipitation: 16-30 inches (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2009).

Hazards: all parts are poisonous

Sowing time: fall

Transplant time: fall

Stratification: extended cold moist

Seed yield: high

Seed harvest: easy

Seed first harvest: no information available

Seed cleaning: no information available

Planting duration: long

Seed insect problem: no information available

Seed shatter: medium

Seed size: large

Seed harvest date: no information available

Seed comments: seeds are poisonous, use care in handling

Herbaria: Specimen data and digital resources from The Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

Key words: native wetland perennial forb

Propagation:
1 protocol in the Native Plant Network
University of Kentucky

Other Propagation Information:
Seed requires 13-19 weeks of cold moist stratification. Germination occurs at cool temperatures under snow. Seed is not stored in the seed bank beyond one year (Williams & Cronin 1968).
At least 48 days of cold moist stratification, 90 or more days may improve germination. Growth is very slow. Seed stores one year or less (Link et al 1993).
Reproduces sexually by seed.

Notes: Veratrum californicum grows in areas that are wet in spring. We like this plant, but suppose most people find it ugly. It is poisonous, although deer will nibble at it. Seed germination is said to be tricky and the plants are slow growing, but we haven't tried it. Common names include California false-hellebore, white hellebore (Skinner et al 2005).

References:
Baldwin, B.G., S. Boyd, B.J. Ertter, D.J. Keil, R.W. Patterson, T.J. Rosatti, and D.H. Wilken (eds). 2004. Jepson Online Interchange for California Floristics. University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Accessed 9/26/09 online at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html

Link, Ellen (ed.). 1993. Native Plant Propagation Techniques for National Parks Interim Guide. USDA, NRCS, Rose Lake Plant Materials Center. East Lansing, MI.

Mohlenbrock, Robert H. undated. Western Wetland Flora: A Field Office Guide to Wetland Species. USDA, NRCS Western Region. Sacramento, CA.

St. John, Harold. 1963. Flora of Southeastern Washington and of Adjacent Idaho. 3rd edition. Outdoor Pictures. Escondido, CA.

Skinner, David M., Paul Warnick, Bill French, and Mary Fauci. 2005. More Palouse Forbs for Landscaping. USDA NRCS Pullman Plant Materials Center and Palouse Prairie Foundation. Online at http://www.wsu.edu/pmc_nrcs/Docs/More_Forbs_for_Landscaping.pdf

USDA NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 27 September 2009). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Williams, M. Coburn, and Eugene H. Cronin. 1968. Dormancy, Longevity, and Germination of Seed of Three Larkspurs and Western False Hellebore. Weed Science 16:381-384.

Links:
Plant Profile from the USDA PLANTS Database
Species description from Flora of North America
Species information from the University of Washington Herbarium