Mitella diphylla

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Two-leaved miterwort
Mitella diphylla Twoleaf miterwort.jpg
Mitella diphylla from the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, NC
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Saxifragaceae
Genus: Mitella
Species:
M. diphylla
Binomial name
Mitella diphylla

Mitella diphylla (twoleaf miterwort,[1] two-leaved mitrewort,[2] or bishop's cap)[3] is a clump forming, open woodland plant native to eastern North America.

Description[]

Miterwort grows from a rhizomatous root system with fibrous roots. Leaves are coarsely toothed with 3-5 shallow lobes.[4] Most leaves are basal, and there is one opposite pair of stemless leaves on each flower stalk.

Tiny flowers with finely divided, lacy white petals are produced in mid-spring in racemes on stems growing from 20 to 50 cm (8 to 20 in) tall.

The seeds are tiny, 1.2–1.6 mm (0.05–0.06 in),[4] produced in small green cups, formed from the sepals of the flower, and when ripe are shiny and black.[5] They are spread when raindrops hit the cups and splash the seeds out.[3]

Ecology[]

The flowers produce both pollen and nectar. Due to their small size, they are mainly visited by small bees and flies: for instance, Lasioglossum sweat bees, small carpenter bees (Ceratina) and hoverflies.[6]

Cultivation[]

This species is grown as an ornamental plant in shade gardens. It prefers wet-mesic to dry soil and partial shade.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mitella diphylla". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ a b Hilty, John (2016). "Bishop's Cap (Mitella diphylla)". Illinois Wildflowers.
  4. ^ a b Soltis, Douglas E.; Freeman, Craig C. (2009). "Mitella diphylla". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 8. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 26 April 2016 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  5. ^ Chayka, Katy; Dziuk, Peter (2016). "Mitella diphylla (Two-leaf Miterwort)". Minnesota Wildflowers.
  6. ^ a b Heather Holm (2014). Pollinators on Native Plants. Minnetonka, MN: Pollinator Press. pp. 110–111.
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