View source for Medeola

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Speciesbox
|image=Medeola virginiana 4055.JPG
|image_caption=Flowering
|status=G5
|status_system=TNC
|status_ref={{r|NatureServe}}
|display_parents=3
|genus=Medeola
|parent_authority=[[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|species=virginiana
|authority=[[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|range_map=Medeola virginiana NA-dist-map.png
|range_map_caption=USDA distribution map{{r|usda}}
|synonyms_ref={{r|wcspf}}
|synonyms=*''Gyromia acuminata'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Gyromia cuneata'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Gyromia virginica'' <small>(Christm.) Nutt.</small>
*''Gyromia virginica'' var. ''picta'' <small>Nutt.</small>
*''Medeola verticillifolia'' <small>Stokes</small>
*''Medeola virginica'' <small>Christm.</small>
}}
'''''Medeola virginiana''''', known as '''Indian cucumber''',{{r|usda|itis}} '''cucumber root''',<ref>{{cite web |title=Cucumber root — Medeola virginiana |url=http://www.nomadseed.com/2017/08/cucumber-root-medeola-virginiana/ |website=Nomad Seed Project |access-date=29 June 2022 |date=29 August 2017}}</ref> or '''Indian cucumber-root''',{{r|weakley2018|ctbot|vascan}} is an eastern [[North America]]n plant [[species]] in the lily [[Family (biology)|family]], [[Liliaceae]].{{r|usda}} It is the only currently recognized plant species in the genus '''''Medeola'''''.{{r|fna}} It grows in the [[understory]] of forests. The plant bears edible [[rhizome]]s that have a mild cucumber-like flavor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hall |first=Alan |title=Wild Food Trail Guide |publisher=Holt, Rinehart, and Winston |date=April 1973 |isbn=0-03-007701-X |location=United States of America |pages=50–51 |language=en}}</ref>
==Description==
''Medeola virginiana'' shoots consist of two tiers of [[Phyllotaxis|whorled]] [[leaves]]. The lower tier typically bears between five and nine (occasionally up to 12) lance shaped leaves. The upper tier bears three to five [[Glossary of botanical terms#ovate|ovate]] leaves. The leaves have an entire (smooth) [[leaf margin|margin]]. Some individuals lack a second tier of whorled leaves. The second tier is produced when the plant [[Anthesis|flowers]]. When two-tiered, plants grow to {{cvt|30|in|cm}} high. The flowers have yellowish green [[tepal]]s and appear in late spring. The [[fruit]] is a dark blue to purple, inedible [[berry]] above the top tier of leaves.{{r|fna}}<ref>[http://www.botanicus.org/page/358358 Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 339.]</ref><ref>Gleason, H. A. & A.J. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (ed. 2) i–910. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.</ref> Indian cucumber-root shoots arise each spring from an overwintering [[tuber]]like structure. This structure produces a series of horizontal [[rhizome]]s at 45 degree angles which produces a [[clonal colony]] of plants in an octagonal pattern.<ref name=AJB>{{cite journal|last1=Cook|first1=Robert|title=Growth in Medeola Virginiana Clones: I. Field Observations|journal=American Journal of Botany|year=1988|volume=75|issue=5|pages=725–31|jstor=2444204|doi=10.2307/2444204|pmid=30139089}}</ref>
{{Gallery
|Medeole de virginie.jpg|Two tiers of whorled leaves
|Medeola virginiana, Indian Cucumber Root, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman 2019-10-23-18.18.02 ZS PMax UDR (49190522536).jpg|Flowering
|Medeola virginiana two tiered.jpg|Fruiting
}}
==Taxonomy and systematics==
The genus ''Medeola'' was formerly [[Affinity (taxonomy)|associated]] with the [[lilioid]] genera ''[[Trillium]]'' and ''[[Paris (plant)|Paris]]'', which are now [[Circumscription (taxonomy)|placed]] in the [[Tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Paridae]] of the family [[Melanthiaceae]] in the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Liliales]]. [[Armen Takhtajan]] separated ''Medeola'' from ''Trillium'' and ''Paris'', and placed it in [[Monotypic taxon|its own]] family, Medeolaceae, which he erected in 1987,{{r|fna}} based on a [[Diagnosis (taxonomy)|description]] that had been published in 1879 by [[Sereno Watson]].{{Citation needed|reason=|date=May 2017}} The genera ''Medeola'' and ''[[Clintonia]]'' now constitute the tribe [[Medeoleae]] of the [[subfamily]] [[Lilioideae]] in the family Liliaceae, as [[sensu stricto|narrowly defined]] in the [[APG IV system]].{{Citation needed|reason=|date=May 2017}} [[Molecular phylogenetics|Molecular]], [[Plant morphology|morphological]], [[embryological]], and [[cytological]] [[evidence]] [[Corroborating evidence|supports]] a [[sister taxa|sister]] [[Phylogenetic tree|relationship]] between ''Medeola'' and ''Clintonia''. The ''[[Flora of North America]]'' includes both of these in the family Liliaceae.
Some species of ''[[Asparagus (genus)|Asparagus]]''  were formerly placed in the genus ''Medeola'', including:{{r|wcspf}}
* ''Medeola angustifolia'' now ''[[Asparagus asparagoides]]''
* ''Medeola asparagoides'' now ''[[Asparagus asparagoides]]''
* ''Medeola latifolia'' now ''[[Asparagus asparagoides]]''
* ''Medeola triphylla'' now ''[[Asparagus declinatus]]''
==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Medeola virginiana 004.jpg|thumb|left|''Medeola virginiana'', [[Quebec]], [[Canada]]]]
''Medeola virginiana'' is [[Indigenous (ecology)|found]] from [[Ontario]] to [[Nova Scotia]], south to [[Florida]], and [[Louisiana]].{{r|wcspf}} It grows in [[Soil fertility|rich]], moist [[forest]]s, thickets, and [[woodland]]s.{{r|fna|2bn}}
It is listed as an [[endangered plant]] in [[Florida]] and in [[Illinois]].{{r|usda}}
==Uses==
This plant produces a crisp, edible tuber that smells and tastes like garden cucumber;<ref>A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Peterson, Roger Tory Peterson</ref> it can be washed and eaten raw or cooked.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Elias|first1=Thomas S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244766414|title=Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods|last2=Dykeman|first2=Peter A.|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing|Sterling]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4027-6715-9|location=New York|pages=136|oclc=244766414|orig-year=1982}}</ref> [[Iroquois]] used the plant as an [[anticonvulsant]] and pediatric aid.<ref name=Moerman>{{cite book|last1=Moerman|first1=Daniel|title=Medicinal Plants of Native America|date=1986|publisher=University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology}}</ref>
==References==
{{Wikiversity-bc|Medeola virginiana}}
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=2bn>[http://2bnthewild.com/plants/H13.htm Wildflowers of the Southeastern U.S., Indian Cucumber (Medeola virginiana)]</ref>
<ref name=ctbot>[http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/medeolavirg.html ''Medeola virginiana''] at [http://www.ct-botanical-society.org Connecticut Botanical Society]</ref>
<ref name=fna>{{eFloras |1 |119943 |Medeola |volume=26 |last=Utech |first=Frederick H. |access-date=23 October 2019}}</ref>
<ref name=itis>{{ITIS |id=42963 |taxon=''Medeola virginiana''}}</ref>
<ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web |publisher=NatureServe |title=Medeola virginiana |work=NatureServe Explorer |url=http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchSciOrCommonName=Medeola+virginiana |access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>
<ref name=usda>[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MEVI ''Medeola virginiana''] at [http://plants.usda.gov/ United States Department of Agriculture plants profile]</ref>
<ref name=vascan>{{cite web |vauthors=Brouillet L, Desmet P, Coursol F, Meades SJ, Favreau M, Anions M, Bélisle P, Gendreau C, Shorthouse D, etal |date=2010 |title=''Medeola virginiana'' Linnaeus |url=https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/taxon/6538 |website=Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN) |access-date=20 September 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=wcspf>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=281771 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref>
<ref name=weakley2018>{{citation |last=Weakley |first=Alan S. |author-link=Alan S. Weakley |title=Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, working draft of 20 August 2018 |date=2018 |publisher=University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill}}</ref>
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3017925}}
[[Category:Liliaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Northern America]]
[[Category:Monotypic Liliales genera]]
[[Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine]]
[[Category:Root vegetables]]