OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Coptis trifolia   FAMILY Ranunculaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Coptis trifolia   FAMILY Ranunculaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Coptis trifolia

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Coptis trifolia

INCLUDING Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)

Coptis trifolia var. groenlandica

INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)

Coptis trifolia ssp. groenlandica

INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)

Coptis groenlandica

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Coptis trifolia

 

COMMON NAME:
Goldthread, Goldenroot, Threeleaf Goldthread


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Coptis trifolia, Goldthread, Goldenroot, Threeleaf Goldthread

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_cotr2_001_lvd

        

Neatly trifoliolate leaves, small white flowers on scapes, and yellow roots, per Weakley's Flora (2020).

image of Coptis trifolia, Goldthread, Goldenroot, Threeleaf Goldthread

Jeff Ausmus    jma_coptri

May    Roscommon County    MI

Roscommon State Forest Area: Richfield Township

5-7 petal-like sepals surround a bushy cluster of white-tipped stamens & bright green styles, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).

image of Coptis trifolia, Goldthread, Goldenroot, Threeleaf Goldthread

Jeff Ausmus    jma_coptri_4

May    Ogemaw County    MI

Roscommon State Forest Area: Ogemaw Township

Short, golden-yellow, club-shaped petals with nectar-loaded tips alternate with the white sepals, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).

image of Coptis trifolia, Goldthread, Goldenroot, Threeleaf Goldthread

Jeff Ausmus    jma_coptri2

May    Monroe County    MI

In cultivation

Fruit is a candelabra-like array of tiny, stalked pods, each with a long-tapering tip, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).

image of Coptis trifolia, Goldthread, Goldenroot, Threeleaf Goldthread

Jeff Ausmus    jma_coptri4

May    Ogemaw County    MI

Roscommon State Forest Area: Ogemaw Township

image of Coptis trifolia, Goldthread, Goldenroot, Threeleaf Goldthread

Jeff Ausmus    jma_coptri5

September    Monroe County    MI

In cultivation

Leaves shiny, palmately divided into 3 toothed, smooth, oval or fan-shaped leaflets, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Coptis trifolia   FAMILY Ranunculaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Coptis trifolia   FAMILY Ranunculaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Coptis trifolia

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Coptis trifolia

INCLUDING Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Coptis trifolia var. groenlandica

INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Coptis trifolia ssp. groenlandica

INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Coptis groenlandica

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Coptis trifolia

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

3212

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: bogs, northern hardwood forests, per Weakley's Flora

Native to North Carolina

Rare

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Compound: 3 leaflets
Basal
Leaves have petioles.

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5-7 sepals
Petals absent
30-60 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

Flowers solitary on leafless stalks

FRUIT:
Aggregate of follicles

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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