Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Piperales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Hexastylis minor
FAMILY
Aristolochiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Hexastylis from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hexastylis minor
FAMILY
Aristolochiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hexastylis minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH Asarum chueyi (Aristolochiaceae), a new species from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee and Virginia, USA (Sinn, 2015)
Asarum minus
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Hexastylis minor
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)
Hexastylis minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH A review of the taxonomy and biogeography of Hexastylis (Aristolochiaceae) (Gaddy, 1987)
Hexastylis minor
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 062-03-005:
Hexastylis minor FAMILY Aristolochiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hexastylis virginica
COMMON NAME:
Little Heartleaf, Small Heartleaf Ginger
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_hexastylis_minor_7956
March Catawba County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8323
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8325
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
Leaves rounded, with cordate base, all portions of the sides convex, strongly variegated, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8332
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8333
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8334
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8336
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
Calyx tube 12-25 mm long, greatly flared at the midpoint or higher, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8365
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
Sepal lobes much broader than long, spreading, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm240405_8371
April Spartanburg County SC
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
The floral orifice only slightly more constricted than the widest portion of the calyx tube, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
David Campbell mdc_3388
April Union County NC
)
David Campbell mdc_3395_1
April Union County NC
Calyx lobes typically, at least partially, at a 45-90° angle from the flower's vertical axis, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Hexastylis minor
FAMILY
Aristolochiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hexastylis minor
FAMILY
Aristolochiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hexastylis minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Asarum chueyi (Aristolochiaceae), a new species from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee and Virginia, USA (Sinn, 2015)
Asarum minus
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Hexastylis minor
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Hexastylis minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH
A review of the taxonomy and biogeography of Hexastylis (Aristolochiaceae) (Gaddy, 1987)
Hexastylis minor
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 062-03-005:
Hexastylis minor
FAMILY
Aristolochiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hexastylis virginica
676
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Upland or moist forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas
Common in NC Piedmont, uncommon in SC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Plant acaulescent (without aerial stems). Leaves alternate, 2-ranked
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Spring
Pale purplish/ Purplish-brown
3-merous
3-lobed cylindrical calyx tube
Petals absent
12 stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p316
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p476
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p215
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