Hexastylis or heartleaf is a segregate

Segregate (taxonomy)

In taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off...

 of the genus Asarum

Asarum

Asarum is a genus of plants in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae, commonly known as Wild ginger.- Description :...

, in the family Aristolochiaceae

Aristolochiaceae

The Aristolochiaceae, or the Birthwort family, are a family of flowering plants with 7 genera and about 400 species belonging to the order Piperales...

. The group comprises ten species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 endemic to southeastern North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It is a perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

, evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

, herbaceous

Herbaceous plant

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

 plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 with leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 and flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s arising directly from the rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

s. Hexastylis was once recognized at the level of genus, and in some floral treatments still is, yet it has been shown through morphological and molecular evidence that it is rooted within the genus Asarum

Asarum

Asarum is a genus of plants in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae, commonly known as Wild ginger.- Description :...

.

Species

There are ten species of Hexastylis:

• Hexastylis arifolia
  Hexastylis arifolia
  Hexastylis arifolia, or the little brown jug is a perennial wildflower in the family Aristolochiaceae found in the southeastern United States...
  
  
• Hexastylis contracta
• Hexastylis heterophylla
• Hexastylis lewisii
• Hexastylis minor
• Hexastylis naniflora
  Hexastylis naniflora
  Hexastylis naniflora is a rare species of flowering plant in the birthwort family known by the common name dwarf-flowered heartleaf. It is endemic to the Piedmont region of the United States, where it is limited to a small area straddling the border between North Carolina and South Carolina...
  
  
• Hexastylis rhombiformis
• Hexastylis shuttleworthii
• Hexastylis speciosa
• Hexastylis virginica
  Hexastylis virginica
  Hexastylis virginica, commonly known as Virginia heartleaf, is a prostrate perennial plant in the Aristolochiaceae . It is found in the mideastern United States from Maryland and Virginia in the north, south to North Carolina and Tennessee. The plant is encountered in deciduous and mixed forests....