Melanthium

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Melanthiaceae

• Scientific Name

  Melanthium

• Description

  Genus Description - Fls polygamous; tep 6, spreading, clawed at base, bearing a pair of glands at the base of the blade; filaments adnate to the claws; anthers extrorse, obcordate, with confluent thecae; ovary superior, 3-lobed, each lobe terminated by a short style; capsule ovoid, septicidal, subtended by the withered perianth; seeds several, elliptic, thick about the center, bordered by a firm wing; poisonous perennial herbs from stout rhizomes, with elongate sheathing lvs and a larger, terminal, pubescent panicle of green or greenish fls. 5, N. Amer.

• Common Names

  bunch-flower