Indian cucumber root

Medeola virginiana

Family name

General features:

Habit (annual, perennial, vine, shrub)

Stem details (hairy, fleshy, etc)

Size (height, inches, feet): 1-2 feet tall

Dates in flower: April-June

Dates in fruit: July-September

Leaf characteristics:

Arrangement (opposite, alternate, whorled, basal):    2 whorls of leaves

Size (in inches, feet)

Division (simple, compound, twice compound, etc)

Flower characteristics: Small dangling flowers

Color

Size (inches)

Number

Shape (skip if obvious from photo)

Fragrance

Petal # (skip if obvious from photo)

Other (morphological aspects, e.g. dioecious, wilting daily, etc)

Fruit characteristics:

Type (capsule, berry, other): berries

Color: purple or black

Size (inches)

Seed #

Seed size (small, large, etc)

Location in Buffalo Mt Park:

Trails (and approx. loc. if needed)

Elevations (upper, middle, lower)

Forest type (Oak-pine; Oak-tulip poplar; Oak-hickory): Well drained forests

Folk uses:

Medicines

Foods

Beverages

Other: Root tastes like cucumber (eaten by Native Americans); should not be harvested because of scarcity of plant

Natural history notes:

Pollination biology

Animals using this plant

Distribution notes:

Original distribution if non-native

Distribution this species

Related species in this region

Etymology of name:

Latin name

Common names