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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Goldthread from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
Jeff Ausmus jma_coptri4
May Ogemaw County MI
Roscommon State Forest Area: Ogemaw Township
)
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
3212
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: bogs, northern hardwood forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina
Rare
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!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p173
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p047
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".