bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Mitella diphylla (twoleaf miterwort,[1] two-leaved mitrewort,[2] or bishop's cap)[3] is a clump forming, open woodland plant native to northeast and midwest regions of North America.[4]

Two-leaved miterwort
Mitella diphylla from the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, NC
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Saxifragaceae
Genus:	Mitella
Species:	M. diphylla
Binomial name
Mitella diphylla L.

Description

Miterwort grows from a rhizomatous root system with fibrous roots. Leaves are coarsely toothed with 3-5 shallow lobes.[5] Most leaves are basal, and there is one opposite pair of stemless leaves on each flower stalk.

Tiny flowers with finely divided, lacy white petals are produced in mid-spring in racemes on stems growing from 20 to 50 cm (8 to 20 in) tall.

The seeds are tiny, 1.2–1.6 mm (0.05–0.06 in),[5] produced in small green cups, formed from the sepals of the flower, and when ripe are shiny and black.[6] They are spread when raindrops hit the cups and splash the seeds out.[3]

It grows in high quality mesic forests on moist, mossy ledges and north-facing slopes. The Latin specific epithet diphylla means two-leaved and is in reference to the non-basal leaves.[4]

Ecology

The flowers produce both pollen and nectar. Due to their small size, they are mainly visited by small bees and flies: for instance, Lasioglossum sweat bees, small carpenter bees (Ceratina) and hoverflies.[7]

Cultivation

This species is grown as an ornamental plant in shade gardens. It prefers wet-mesic to dry soil and partial shade.[7]

References

• Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
• Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.

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