bluebead lily

(Clintonia borealis)

Conservation Status
bluebead lily
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FAC - Facultative

     
  Midwest

FAC - Facultative

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FAC - Facultative

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Bluebead lily is a perennial forb that rises on a rosette of basal leaves and a leafless flowering stalk from a thin spreading rhizome with thin fibrous roots.

There are usually 2 or 3 basal leaves, occasionally 4 or 5. The leaves are stalkless, oblong to elliptic or inversely egg-shaped, 6 to 12 long, and 2 to 3 wide. They sheath the scape at the base and taper abruptly to a sharp point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. The upper surface is dark green and glossy. The margins are untoothed and have a fringe of hairs.

The flowering stalk (scape) is 6 to 16 tall, erect, unbranched, and hairy, at least when young. The inflorescence is an unbranched cluster (raceme) of 3 to 8 flowers at the end of the scape. The flowers nod at the end of a to 1¼ long stalk (pedicel). The pedicels are covered with soft hairs.

Each flower is about long. There are 3 petals and 3 petal-like sepals (tepals), 6 stamens, and 1 style. The tepals are yellowish-green, narrowly oblong, ½ to long, and to 3 16 wide. The stamens have slender, ½ to long filaments and oblong, 1 16 to long anthers.

The pedicels become erect in fruit. The fruit is an dark blue, egg-shaped, 5 16 to ½ in diameter berry with a few to several seeds. It ripens in mid-summer.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

6 to 16

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Greenish-yellow

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Moderate moisture to moist. Coniferous, deciduous, or mixed woods; wooded bogs; swamps. Full shade.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

Early May to early July

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

 
  2/25/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Liliopsida (monocots)  
 

Order

Liliales (lilies, supplejacks, and allies)  
 

Family

Liliaceae (lilies)  
  Subfamily Lilioideae  
  Tribe Medeoleae (cead lilies and cucumber roots)  
 

Genus

Clintonia (bead lilies)  
       
 

The genus Clintonia was formerly placed in the subfamily Medeoloideae. That subfamily has recently been downgraded to tribe status with the name Medeoleae.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Dracaena borealis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

blue-bead-lily

bluebead

bluebead lily

bluebead-lily

Clinton lily

Clinton’s lily

corn-lily

yellow blue-bead-lily

yellow clintonia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Filament

On plants: The thread-like stalk of a stamen which supports the anther. On Lepidoptera: One of a pair of long, thin, fleshy extensions extending from the thorax, and sometimes also from the abdomen, of a caterpillar.

 

Pedicel

On plants: the stalk of a single flower in a cluster of flowers. On insects: the second segment of the antennae. On Hymenoptera and Araneae: the narrow stalk connecting the thorax to the abdomen: the preferred term is petiole.

 

Raceme

An unbranched, elongated inflorescence with stalked flowers. The flowers mature from the bottom up.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 

Scape

An erect, leafless stalk growing from the rootstock and supporting a flower or a flower cluster.

 

Tepal

Refers to both the petals and the sepals of a flower when they are similar in appearance and difficult to tell apart. Tepals are common in lilies and tulips.

 
 
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Kathy Ross

 
    bluebead lily      
 

Luciearl

 
 

Only saw one of these a few years ago, but this year found a couple of large patches.

 
    bluebead lily   bluebead lily  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Fruiting Plant

 
    bluebead lily   bluebead lily  
           
    bluebead lily      
           
 

Unfurling Leaves

 
    bluebead lily   bluebead lily  
           
    bluebead lily      
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    bluebead lily   bluebead lily  
           
 

Infructescence

 
    bluebead lily   bluebead lily  
           
 

Plant with Two Basal Leaves

 
    bluebead lily      
           
 

Plant with Three Basal Leaves

 
    bluebead lily   bluebead lily  
           
 

Plant with Four Basal Leaves

 
    bluebead lily      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Bluebead Lily
Andree Reno Sanborn
 
  Bluebead Lily  
 
About

Clintonia borealis

 
  Clintonia borealis (Bluebead Lily)
Allen Chartier
 
  Clintonia borealis (Bluebead Lily)  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Yarrow and Yellow Clintonia
ironDsteele
 
   
 
About

Published on May 20, 2015

Part 11 in an ongoing series of documentaries on wild edible, medicinal, and toxic plants. I'm covering the highly medicinal "Yarrow" (Achillea millefolium) and the tender edible "Yellow Clintonia" (Clintonia borealis). All video footage is recorded by me on the GoPRO Hero 4 Silver Edition. Some of the pictures taken from reputable sources on the internet.

Click 5:45 to skip to Yellow Clintonia.

   
  Wild Edibles: Clintonia (corn lily)
JoeandZachSurvival
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Aug 13, 2011

In this video we identify and talk about what is and is not edible on this common forest floor plant.

   
  MyNature Apps; Identifying Yellow Clintonia,Clintonia borealis
MyNatureApps
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on May 30, 2011

How to identify Yellow Clintonia, Clintonia borealis also know as Yellow Corn-lily or Blue-bead. www.mynatureapps.com

   
  Edible and Inedible! Bluebead Lily
karlsefni01
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Jul 21, 2009

Common throughout eastern North America, the Bluebead Lily has both edible and inedible parts.

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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  Kathy Ross
6/21/2023

Location: Temperance River State Park

bluebead lily  
  Luciearl
6/2/2018

Location: Fairview Township, MN

Only saw one of these a few years ago, but this year found a couple of large patches.

bluebead lily  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
   

 

 

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