Scoliopus
Encyclopedia
Scoliopus, or Fetid Adder's Tongue, is a genus
of plant within the Liliaceae
family consisting of two species, Scoliopus bigelovii
and S. hallii. Both are found in deep shaded forests, primarily in the coastal counties of the western United States from central California to northern Oregon. The name "Scoliopus" derives from the Greek words skolios and pous, meaning curved foot, a reference to the shape of the pedicel
. Taxonomists believe that Scoliopus is closely related to Calochortus
, Prosartes
, Streptopus and Tricyrtis
, which all have creeping rhizomes as well as styles that divide at the tip.
. The flower's nectaries induce insects to enter and crawl around, with pollen
generally deposited on the insect's back. Fungus gnats (Sciaridae and Mycetophilidae) are the principle pollinators of Scoliopus bigelovii.
Botanist John Howell described S. bigelovii as thrusting "ill-scented flowers" from two tightly rolled leaves as soon as they sprout. By the time the leaves develop, "the first fruits are already well formed at the ends of elongate sprawling twisting pedicels".
. S. hallii grows in Oregon, often along streams, on the western slopes of the Cascades and in the state's coastal mountains, ranging from near Oregon's southern border to Tillamook County.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of plant within the Liliaceae
Liliaceae
The Liliaceae, or the lily family, is a family of monocotyledons in the order Liliales. Plants in this family have linear leaves, mostly with parallel veins but with several having net venation , and flower arranged in threes. Several have bulbs, while others have rhizomes...
family consisting of two species, Scoliopus bigelovii
Scoliopus bigelovii
Scoliopus bigelovii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by several common names, including California fetid adderstongue, Bigelow's adderstongue, slinkpod, and brownies. It is native to California, where it is known from parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and North Coast...
and S. hallii. Both are found in deep shaded forests, primarily in the coastal counties of the western United States from central California to northern Oregon. The name "Scoliopus" derives from the Greek words skolios and pous, meaning curved foot, a reference to the shape of the pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. Taxonomists believe that Scoliopus is closely related to Calochortus
Calochortus
Calochortus is a genus of bulbous plants that includes 70 species from British Columbia to Guatemala and east to Nebraska. Calochortus is the most widely dispersed genus of Liliaceae on the North American Pacific coast. Of these, 28 species are endemic to California...
, Prosartes
Prosartes
Prosartes is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family. For several decades plants of this genus were included in genus Disporum. Studies of morphology and cytology, as well as genetic analysis, show these North American plants to be different from the Asian genus Disporum, and they were...
, Streptopus and Tricyrtis
Tricyrtis
Tricyrtis is a genus of the botanical family Liliaceae, known in English as Toad lilies. Its native range is from the Himalayas to eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Philippines and Formosa....
, which all have creeping rhizomes as well as styles that divide at the tip.
Description
Scoliopus has two mottled leaves at its base and a long pedicel that, over time, bends and twists so that the fruit touches the ground. The flowers, which bloom in the late winter and early spring, are pale green or yellow when fresh, lined with narrow purple or dark brown veins, with wide, spreading sepals and narrower petals, three stamens, and a three-angled ovaryOvary (plants)
In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...
. The flower's nectaries induce insects to enter and crawl around, with pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
generally deposited on the insect's back. Fungus gnats (Sciaridae and Mycetophilidae) are the principle pollinators of Scoliopus bigelovii.
Botanist John Howell described S. bigelovii as thrusting "ill-scented flowers" from two tightly rolled leaves as soon as they sprout. By the time the leaves develop, "the first fruits are already well formed at the ends of elongate sprawling twisting pedicels".
Species
Two characteristics separating the species are the shade of the flower and the regions where they grow. S. bigelovii flowers are greenish; S. hallii flowers are grayish-yellow. S. bigelovii grows in California from San Luis Obispo County to Humboldt CountyHumboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
. S. hallii grows in Oregon, often along streams, on the western slopes of the Cascades and in the state's coastal mountains, ranging from near Oregon's southern border to Tillamook County.