Lachnanthes
Encyclopedia
Lachnanthes is a genus of monocotyledonous plants in the bloodwort family
containing only one species, namely Lachnanthes caroliniana, commonly known as redroot. The plant is native to eastern North America
, from Nova Scotia
(limited to Molega Lake
area.) and Massachusetts
in the north, south to Florida
and Cuba
, and west along the Gulf of Mexico
to Louisiana
. It prefers wet, acidic, usually sandy soils, restricting it to various wetland habitats such as bogs, pinelands, hammock
s and pocosin
s, among others. The plant's common name is based on its red roots and rhizome
s. Its flowers, consisting of six pale yellow tepal
s, emerge from mid to late summer. The plant is sometimes a significant weed in commercial cranberry
bogs.
Haemodoraceae
Haemodoraceae is a family of flowering plants. It is sometimes known as the "Bloodwort family". Primarily a Southern Hemisphere family, they are found in South Africa, Australia and New Guinea, and in the Americas Haemodoraceae is a family of flowering plants. It is sometimes known as the...
containing only one species, namely Lachnanthes caroliniana, commonly known as redroot. The plant is native to eastern 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...
, from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
(limited to Molega Lake
Molega Lake
Molega Lake is a large lake in Queens County, Nova Scotia approximately 30 minutes outside of Bridgewater. The surrounding area is a mainly seasonal cottage area with some year round residential subdivisions.-Conservation:...
area.) and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in the north, south to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and west along the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. It prefers wet, acidic, usually sandy soils, restricting it to various wetland habitats such as bogs, pinelands, hammock
Hammock (ecology)
Hammocks are dense stands of hardwood trees that grow on natural rises of only a few inches higher than surrounding marshland that is otherwise too wet to support them. Hammocks are distinctive in that they are formed gradually over thousands of years rising in a wet area through the deposits of...
s and pocosin
Pocosin
Pocosin is a term for a type of palustrine wetland with deep, acidic, sandy, peat soils. Groundwater saturates the soil except during brief seasonal dry spells and during prolonged droughts...
s, among others. The plant's common name is based on its red roots and 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. Its flowers, consisting of six pale yellow tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s, emerge from mid to late summer. The plant is sometimes a significant weed in commercial cranberry
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
bogs.