Lachnanthes caroliniana (Lam.) Dandy

  • Authority

    Maas, P. J. M. & Maas-van de Kamer, H. 1993. Haemodoraceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 61: 1-44. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Haemodoraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Lachnanthes caroliniana (Lam.) Dandy

  • Type

    Type. A collection at the Paris Herbarium labelled  dilatris Caroliniana. Lam. gen. an anonymos no. 21. Walt. fl. car. p. 67.  in Lamarck s own handwriting (Burdet, 1976).

  • Synonyms

    Anonymos tinctoria Walter, Dilatris caroliniana Lam., Heritiera tinctorum Walter ex J.F.Gmel., Heritiera gmelini Michx., Dilatris heritiera Pers., Gyrotheca tinctoria (J.F.Gmel.) Salisb., Dilatris tinctoria (Walter ex J.F.Gmel.) Pursh, Lachnanthes tinctoria (Walter ex J.F.Gmel.) Elliott, Lachnanthes tinctoria var. major C.Wright ex Griseb., Gyrotheca capitata (Walter ex J.F.Gmel.) Morong

  • Description

    Species Description - Herbs 15-110 cm tall, with short rhizomes, to 1 cm in diam., reddish inside, sometimes stoloniferous. Stolons to 17 cm long, each node with a membranous, brownish, ovate, basally sheathing bract, apex acute, to 7 mm long. Leaves mainly radical, linear, 10-60 cm long, 0.2-1.6 cm wide, glabrous. Inflorescence a corymb-like thyrse, initially congested, becoming more open at anthesis, 2.5-13 cm long, 2-7 cm wide, to 10(—19) cm wide during fructification. Indument of inflorescence: upper part of rachis, bracts, pedicels, ovary, capsule, and outer side of tepals densely to very densely covered with white, multicellular woolly hairs 1-2 mm long, inner side of tepals glabrous. Number of cataphylls 4-6, 1.3-17 cm long, 0.4-1 cm wide, almost glabrous. Primary bracts narrowly triangular, 0.8-2.2(-4.5) cm long. Floral bracts narrowly triangular, 0.4-0.7(-1.6) cm long. Flowers with pedicels 2-7 mm long. Outer side of tepals white (indument), inner side yellow. Tepals narrowly elliptic-triangular, outer ones 4-6 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, inner ones 6-10 mm long, 2-3 mm wide. Stamens 7-12 mm long, exceeding the tepals, filament whitish, anther yellow, recurved after dehiscence. Style whitish, 9-10 mm long. Capsule white, globose to transversally ellipsoid, 4-6 mm long, 5-8 mm in diam., each valve crowned by a persistent tepal and filament. Seeds peltate, lens-shaped, yellow, 2-3 mm in diam. on red swollen placenta. Chromosome number 2n = 48.

  • Discussion

    Lachnanthes caroliniana roots are used for dying purposes as their vernacular names suggest. Also a tincture of the roots was used by American Indians as an invigorating tonic with narcotic effects, and as an herb remedy (Simpson, 1990 citing Millspaugh, 1887). Simpson also cites Darwin (1872) describing the toxicity of L. caroliniana for certain livestock. Finally the species is reported to be an agricultural pest in commercial cranberry bogs (Robertson, 1976).

    When publishing the species in 1791 in Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique Lamarck wrote (p. 127) “DILATRIS. Caroliana... E Carolinia. d Fraser.. . Thus this plant, collected by Fraser (?) originates from “Carolinia” and should be named D. caroliniana. In Supplement 2 of Encyclopédie méthodique (1812; p. 482) Poiret mentions D. caroliniana as described in “Illustr. 1, pag. 127” referring to the old name of Lamarck’s book. “D. caroliana" therefore, is to be considered an orthographic error of D. caroliniana, the correct spelling.

  • Common Names

    dye root, paint root, red-root

  • Distribution

    The Canadian province of Nova Scotia, the east coast of the U.S. A., from Louisiana to Florida, and in W Cuba. In wet grasslands, pine forests, and swampy regions. Flowering between (April) June and September (November).

    Canada North America| Nova Scotia Canada North America| United States of America North America| Alabama United States of America North America| Delaware United States of America North America| Florida United States of America North America| Georgia United States of America North America| Louisiana United States of America North America| Massachusetts United States of America North America| Mississippi United States of America North America| New Jersey United States of America North America| North Carolina United States of America North America| South Carolina United States of America North America| Virginia United States of America North America| Cuba South America| Piñar del Río Cuba South America|