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Uvularia perfoliata
Perfoliate Bellwort, Bellwort, Merry Bells, Mealy Bellwort, Strawbells, Wild Oats, Mohawk Weed, Straw Lily, Yellow Bellwort

Photo by Cure Nursery

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.

Bellwort is a beautiful understory wildflower that sprouts up delicate green in early spring (April) in shady, dry-to-mesic woods or wooded gardens in piedmont and mountain counties in North Carolina. Found from Massachusetts southward, it becomes less common in the souhern part of its range in our southern Gulf states. Bellwort spreads by fleshy, white underground stolons to form great sweeps of single-stemmed, 10-to-15 inch tall, daintily drooping, soft yellow flowers, one per stem, as far as the eye can see. It is an early blush of spring green against the brown leaf cover of the winter forest floor, a harbinger of things to come, then becoming dormant later in the growing season. The name refers to the way in which the upright stem seems to penetrate the perfoliate leaf. The fruit is a distinctive, triangular, 3-lobed capsule. We are fortunate to have these flowers, unplanted, inside our deer fence, and they fill one with gratitude for the generosity of Mother Nature!

Last Updated: November 12, 2021

Key Info

Scientific Name: Uvularia perfoliata L.
Common Names: Perfoliate Bellwort, Bellwort, Merry Bells, Mealy Bellwort, Strawbells, Wild Oats, Mohawk Weed, Straw Lily, Yellow Bellwort
Family Name: Colchicaceae (Meadow Saffron Family) (formerly Liliaceae)
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Uses: Woodland Garden, Naturalizing, Rock garden, Shade garden, Groundcover (Spring ephemeral)
Light Requirement: Dappled sun, Full shade-bright, Partial/sunny, Partial/shady
Moisture Requirement: Dry, Medium, Moist well drained
Bloom Times: Apr, May, Jun
Flower Color: Yellow
Special Characteristics: Medicinal value, Stoloniferous, Leaves and roots edible

Additional Info

Habit: Single stems with small branchings above, spreads by stolons.
Height: 1 - 1.5'
Spread: 0.5'
Soil Conditions: Average to wet, prefers well-drained, acid, neutral, alkaline, light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils.
Leaves: Alternate, entire, lance-shaped, bluish green, 2-4 inch leaves with smooth margins; the base of the leaf grows around the stem so that the stem appears to grow through the leaf ("perfoliate").
Flowers (or reproductive structures): Single, yellow, 1-1.5-inch long bell-shaped flower with six tepals drooping at the end of each stem; the tepals are granular and orangish within (a diagnostic character).
Fruit: Approximately 1-inch, three-angled greenish brown capsule ripening to brown; each chamber containing 2-3 flattened round seeds.
Natural Distribution: Woodland habitats such as floodplain forests, but also mesic upland forests, and dry rocky woodlands.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 - 8
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: FACU
Pollination: Pollinated by bees.
Pharmacology: Leaves and roots are edible, and these also have some medicinal qualities including treatment of snakebites, reducing swellings, and as a poultice for other topical wounds and skin inflammations. (PFAF).
Propagation: In our hands, seed propagation is not reliable; the plant spreads by rhizomes.
USDA/NRCS Plant Distribution Map: View Map at USDA.gov
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Cure Nursery is a small nursery propagating and selling native plants for the Southeastern U.S. We are located near the town of Pittsboro, Chatham County, in central NC.

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