Plant of the week: Large flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)

This is a nice woodland clump forming species that actually makes a pretty good cut flower, of which there are not that many native species that can be used for this purpose in the spring.  It grows to 2' tall, with lance shaped leaves that are perfoliate (leaf base encircles the stem), slightly twisted, and bright green in color.  The flowers have 6 tepals (sepals and petals look alike) that hang below the stem and in early stages of growth gives it a droopy appearance.  It is very easy to grow in the garden in rich organic soils in full to partial sun habitats. The three celled and lobed seed capsules are quite showy after the plant has flowered.  This is a highly preferred deer browse and it will be quickly destroyed in areas with high deer densities.  It is primarily pollinated by various bees and like many woodland species, the seeds are dispersed by ants because of the fatty acid elaiosomes (ants eat this and leave the seeds to germinate). It has been reported in the literature that the young tender sprouts can be eaten like asparagus. As with many native plants, the Native Americans used this species to treat a wide variety of ailments ranging from swelling to diarrhea to healing ulcers and broken bones.