A common spring wildflower found in woodlands nearly statewide, large bellwort has bell-shaped flowers that droop downward. The yellow petals usually look twisted, almost wilted.
Large bellwort is a perennial member of the lily family, growing from rhizomes, with smooth, usually forked stems, with a zigzag pattern between the leaf nodes.
The flowers are terminal at the stem tips, nodding, yellow, with 3 matching sepals and 3 petals about 2 inches long, the petals and sepals narrow, often spirally twisted.
Blooms April–May.
The leaves are alternate, perfoliate (the bases completely surrounding the stem, so it looks like the stem comes up through the leaf blade), the blades broadly oval, hairy underneath, bright green.
The fruit is a 3-lobed, egg-shaped capsule.
Similar species: Missouri has one others species in this genus:
- Small bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia) is scattered mostly north of the Missouri River. It has hairless leaves that are sessile (stalkless) (not perfoliate), and it has smaller, paler flowers. It generally lives only in low areas.
Height: to 2 feet.
Scattered nearly statewide.
Habitat and Conservation
Occurs in moist bottomland and upland forests, in ravines and valleys, and on rich, wooded slopes; less commonly on shaded bluff ledges or stream banks.
Status
Native Missouri wildflower.
Human Connections
Young shoots of some species of bellworts have been cooked and eaten like asparagus. The starchy rootstocks have also been cooked and eaten.
Most people, however, only "devour" these pretty spring wildflowers with their eyes!
Ecosystem Connections
Bellworts are in the lily family, along with daylilies, tulips, and many more. Lilies have many traits in common, but almost all have flower parts in threes, leaves with parallel veins, and bulbs, tubers, or similar as rootstocks.
