Verticillate paris is a woodland wildflower of northern Asia with a single of 6 to 8 leaves topped by one green, spidery flower. It does not grow wild in the United States; it is a close cousin of the trilliums, but its flower parts come in fours or more instead of threes. The plant is poisonous, especially its roots.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A perennial that spreads by a thin underground stem. Each plant sends up a single stem about 8–24 in (20–60 cm) tall.
- Leaves
- Six to eight stalkless, lance-shaped leaves, about 2–6 in (5–15 cm) long, form one whorl at the top of the stem.
- Flowers
- A single flower sits on a stalk above the leaves. It has four broad green outer segments and four threadlike, yellowish inner segments, plus 8–10 stamens.
- Fruit
- A round, purplish-black berry ripens in fall.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- mountain forests
- subalpine woods
- Range
- Native across northern and eastern Asia, from Kazakhstan and Siberia to Korea and Japan, including Mongolia and northern China. It is not native to North America.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows in the shade of the forest floor, from mountain woods up into the subalpine zone.
Cautions
- Cautions
- The plant is poisonous, especially the roots, which contain saponin-type compounds.
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