Now divided by botanists into a number of different families and even different orders. We list the genera as they are listed in our 1951 Check List of the Vascular Flora of Allegheny County, which follows Gray’s Manual; but on the page for the individual species we note the family in which botanists currently place it.
Large-Flowered
Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora). These
odd-looking plants bloom in late April; the flowers
appear while the rest of the plant seems to be still
under construction. They like moist woods, especially
stream valleys. Supposedly not a very common plant,
although it may be locally abundant.
Allium
Daylily
(Hemerocallis fulva). This favorite
garden perennial has naturalized itself quite
successfully in western Pennsylvania, and huge
colonies light up our roadsides in June. Countless
variations have been bred for connoisseurs, but
nothing matches the simple elegance of the original
species. It was rare in the wild half a century ago,
but now it is considered invasive.
Lilium
Trout
Lily (Erythronium americanum). Also
known as Dogtooth Violet or Adder’s Tongue, this very
attractive plant is as remarkable for its mottled
leaves as for its yellow flowers. It likes wooded
stream valleys where the soil is very rich and moist.
Star
of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum).
A European native that has made itself quite at home
here, Star of Bethlehem can often be found in weedy
patches of low grass. Until it blooms, its narrow
leaves are hard to distinguish from the grass around
them. The six-pointed white flowers are unmistakable,
with six yellow-tipped stamens whose flattened
“filaments” seem to form a miniature duplicate flower
inside the larger one.
English
Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta).
These pretty little flowers are not recorded as
growing in the wild around here, but this plant grew
spontaneously in the city in a place where English
Bluebells had not previously been planted. The arched
stem, dangling blue-violet bells, and yellow stamens
distinguish this from any similar species.
Clintonia
Smilacina
Melanthemum
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum pubescens). Arching fronds of alternate leaves hide the dainty little bells: you have to lift the stem, or crouch on the ground, to see the flowers. But it is worth the extra effort to reveal the flowers. They are small and green, but beautifully shaped.
Great
White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum).
The Great White Trillium loves to grow in vast
colonies. It’s not all that common, but when you do
find a stand of them, it may cover acres. It is
practically the symbol of spring in the woodlands, and
it is responsible for converting many careless
strollers into amateur botanists.
Wake-Robin
(Trillium erectum). Also known as
Stinking Willie for its unattractive scent (“like wet
dog” is the best description we have heard), this
beautiful Trillium comes in a wide range of colors.
The most common around here seems to be the white
form; elsewhere, the usual color is deep mahogany red,
but we also find it in pink and yellow-green.
Toadshade
(Trillium sessile). The most common
form is deep mahogany red, but Pittsburgh seems to
favor trillia in the wrong colors, and this is the
more uncommon pale-green form. It is distinguished by
its erect petals and often by mottled leaves, as we
see here.
Bloody
Butcher (Trillium recurvatum). Neither
Gray nor the USDA PLANTS database places any wild
populations of Trillium recurvatum
anywhere in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, or even
within two hundred miles, but we have found it growing
in Mount Lebanon. The Bloody Butcher is similar to the
Toadshade (Trillium sessile), which also has
mottled leaves and upright mahogany flowers; but the
species name recurvatum points out the
distinctive feature of this plant: the sepals that
curve backward, and the petals that curve back in,
making a little enclosed apartment to give the
pollinators some privacy.
Smilax