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Slender Bunchflower

Melanthium latifolium

Found in moist to dry forests, usually in base-rich soils. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

32
Good

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Bloom
July to August
Fruiting season
September to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread, life cycle and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 3 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Moist forests

Woods Scene
Harvey Joiner, Woods Scene: tall beeches in a moist Kentucky woodland, light falling through a closed canopy onto a damp forest floor. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky beech woods (Harvey Joiner, Louisville painter of Kentucky beech forests; the painting does not name the site), a neighboring state.Woods Scene, Harvey Joiner, c. 1880-1920. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 98 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (38)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Veratrum

  • Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Xestia smithiiSmith's Dart
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
6BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Melanthium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Melanthiaceae
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Crisped Bunch Flower; Melanthium latifolium; Slender Bunch Flower; false hellebore; false-hellebore

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS2
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

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How to check your spot

Sources