Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Saxifragales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Astilbe biternata
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Appalachian False Goatsbeard from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Astilbe biternata
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-07-001:
Astilbe biternata
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
COMMON NAME:
Appalachian False Goatsbeard
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asbi4_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm120421_140
April Hendersonvlle County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm070526_069
May Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm070526_089
May Polk County
Black Cohosh on the left; False Goatsbeard on the right
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_019
May Polk County NC
Astilbe has a hairy upper stem, whereas Aruncus is smooth, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
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JK Marlow jkm090503_048
May Polk County NC
Terminal leaflets are acuminate and usually 3-lobed with a cordate base, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
COMPARE
compound leaves of woodland herbs, with toothed margins
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JK Marlow jkm090503_064
May Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_908
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_882
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0506c_30
June Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow jkm090711_030
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm090711_034
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Fruit erect, lanceolate follicles, 0.15-.2" long, borne on a large panicle, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
)
JK Marlow jkm200717_6622
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
Flowers in a pyramid-shaped, branching inflorescence held above the leaves, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast.
)
JK Marlow jkm0308v_02
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Lateral leaflets ovate, elliptic, 3-lobed or lobed on one side, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
COMPARE
Cohosh, Doll's-eyes, and Goatsbeard
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Astilbe biternata
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Astilbe biternata
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-07-001:
Astilbe biternata
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
175
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common in Carolina Mtns, uncommon in GA Mtns, rare elsewhere (an endemic)
Look for it in cove forests, on seepage slopes, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Moist
LEAVES:
Complexly compound, with 2+ levels of pinnate and/or ternate compoundness
Basal & alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Bisexual or unisexual
Radially symmetrical
5 persistent sepals
5 petals (or petals absent in pistillate flowers)
8-10 stamens
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
A partly fused 2-locular capsule or separate as 2 follicles
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p110
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p217
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p023
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p103
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p116
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p139
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p067