Hexastylis arifolia, or the little brown jug, is a perennial wildflower in the family Aristolochiaceae found in the southeastern United States, from Louisiana to Virginia, inland as far as Kentucky.[2] It is considered a threatened species in Florida.

Description

Hexastylis arifolia is an evergreen, perennial herb with no above-ground stems, spreading by means of underground rhizomes.

Leaves are hairless, of two sorts. Small, scale-like leaves adhere to the underground rhizomes, while larger green, heart-shaped leaves emerge above ground. Flowers are formed one at a time, on the ends of the rhizomes.[3][4][5]

Foliage
Hexastylis arifolia
Hexastylis arifolia flower, cut to reveal the internal structures.

References

  1. ^ Tropicos, Hexastylis arifolia (Michx.) Small
  2. ^ Biota of North America Program, 2014 county distribution map
  3. ^ Whittemore, Alan T.; Gaddy, L. L. (1993). "Hexastylis arifolia". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 2. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  4. ^ Horn, Dennis; Cathcart, Tavia; Hemmerly, Thomas E.; Duhl, David (2005). Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians. Lone Pine Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-55105-428-5.
  5. ^ Small, John Kunkel (1907). "Aristolochiaceae". In Britton, Nathaniel Lord (ed.). Manual of the flora of the northern states and Canada (3rd ed.). New York: Henry Holt & Company. p. 348.