Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Apiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Nanopanax trifolius
FAMILY
Araliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about Panax trifolius and the rest of Panax from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Read more about Dwarf Ginseng at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panax trifolius
FAMILY
Araliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 139-02-001:
Panax trifolium FAMILY Araliaceae
COMMON NAME:
Dwarf Ginseng
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_patr2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm080420_102
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm140417_067
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tiny white flowers in solitary, somewhat spherical umbel, above leaves, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm140418_250
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Tim Spira tpsptrifolius2
April
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_014
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
A whorl of 3 leaves, each with 3-5 coarsely toothed, sessile leaflets, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_024
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
Three leaves in a whorl on summit of stem, with 3-5 sessile leaflets, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_027
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_030
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Nanopanax trifolius
FAMILY
Araliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panax trifolius
FAMILY
Araliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 139-02-001:
Panax trifolium
FAMILY
Araliaceae
1013
Forb
Perennial
Polygamo-dioecious [mostly dioecious, but with some bisexual flowers]
Habitat: cove forests, bottomland forests, other nutrient-rich forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Uncommon in Mountains, rare in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 3-5 leaflets
A single terminal whorl of 3 leaves
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White/Greenish-white
Sepals obsolete
5 petals
Inferior ovary
Inflorescence a terminal, solitary, somewhat spherical umbel rising above leaves
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p156
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p040
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p286
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p253
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p158
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p058
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p163
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p173
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p207
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p111
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".