Clintonia

Clintonia is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family Liliaceae. Plants of the genus are distributed across the temperate regions of North America and eastern Asia, in the mesic understory of deciduous or coniferous forests. The genus, first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1818, was named for DeWitt Clinton, a naturalist and politician from the U.S. state of New York. For this reason, plants of the genus are commonly known as Clinton's lily. The common name bluebead refer to the distinctive fruit of members of the genus. Since fruit color varies somewhat across species, the common name bead lily is used as well.

Description

The genus Clintonia is morphologically diverse. Species are herbaceous perennial plants growing from rhizomatous underground stems with thin, fibrous roots. They grow from 1.5 to 8 dm tall. They have 2 to 6 basal leaves arising from the rhizome crown, the basal leaves are sessile and sheathing, and the cauline leaves have a stalk. The blade of each leaf has a prominent central vein and entire margins, and the bottom ends are obovate to oblanceolate in shape. The leaf apex is acute to abruptly short-acuminate, often mucronate. The inflorescences are terminal, and the flowers are arranged into short racemes or umbel-like clusters, with 1 to 45 flowers. The flowers have 6 tepals with nectaries present. The stamens are inserted at the base of the perianth, and the anthers are oblong-obovate to oblong-linear shaped. The rounded to cylinder shaped ovary is superior with two chambers. Each chamber produces 2 to 10 ovules. The smooth fruits are berry-like, round to egg-shaped, metallic blue to black in color. Four to thirty seeds are produced in each fruit and the seeds are shiny brown, round and the ends are angled with 2 or 3 faces.

Taxonomy

, Plants of the World Online accepts the following species in the genus Clintonia Raf.:

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Clintonia andrewsiana Torr.	West Coast of the United States in California and Oregon
	Clintonia borealis Raf.	eastern North America
	Clintonia udensis Trautv. & C.A.Mey.	Russian Far East to southeast Asia
	Clintonia umbellulata Morong	Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States
	Clintonia uniflora Kunth	western North America

POWO also accepts the infraspecies Clintonia udensis var. alpina H.Hara but some authorities do not accept this name.
Molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrate two major disjunct clades, in eastern Asia and in North America respectively, and with the latter in East and in West. Within the family Liliaceae, Clintonia is a sister group to Medeola.

Distribution

There are five species of Clintonia, four in North America and one in Asia.

North America

Two species of Clintonia occur in western North America:

C. andrewsiana is localized along the West Coast of the United States, from central California to southwestern Oregon.
C. uniflora ranges from central California to southern Alaska, extending east into Alberta and Montana.

The remaining two species are found in eastern North America:

C. borealis is wide-ranging, from Newfoundland and Labrador to Manitoba, extending south across New England and the Great Lakes region into the Appalachian Mountains.
C. umbellulata is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States.
Canada
Alberta: C. uniflora
British Columbia: C. uniflora
Manitoba: C. borealis
New Brunswick: C. borealis
Newfoundland and Labrador: C. borealis
Nova Scotia: C. borealis
Ontario: C. borealis
Prince Edward Island: C. borealis
Quebec: C. borealis
Saskatchewan: none

The species C. borealis is also known to occur on the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory near the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

United States

Alabama: none
Alaska: C. uniflora
Arizona: none
Arkansas: none
California: C. andrewsiana, C. uniflora
Colorado: none
Connecticut: C. borealis
Delaware: none
District of Columbia: none
Florida: none
Georgia: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
Hawaii: none
Idaho: C. uniflora
Illinois: C. borealis
Indiana: C. borealis
Iowa: none
Kansas: none
Kentucky: C. umbellulata
Louisiana: none
Maine: C. borealis
Maryland: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
Massachusetts: C. borealis
Michigan: C. borealis
Minnesota: C. borealis
Mississippi: none
Missouri: none
Montana: C. uniflora
Nebraska: none
Nevada: none
New Hampshire: C. borealis
New Jersey: C. borealis
New Mexico: none
New York: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
North Carolina: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
North Dakota: none
Ohio: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
Oklahoma: none
Oregon: C. andrewsiana, C. uniflora
Pennsylvania: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
Rhode Island: C. borealis
South Carolina: C. umbellulata
South Dakota: none
Tennessee: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
Texas: none
Utah: none
Vermont: C. borealis
Virginia: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
Washington: C. uniflora
West Virginia: C. borealis, C. umbellulata
Wisconsin: C. borealis
Wyoming: none
Asia

The species C. udensis is found in eastern Asia, from the Russian Far East to southeast Asia, extending from the Kuril Islands in the Pacific Ocean to the Western Himalaya region.

Ecology

Spring blooming.

Cultivation

Clintonia species are cultivated as garden subjects in shade gardens, grown for the glossy foliage, small lily-like flowers, and blue fruits, and their ability to live in heavy shade. They grow best in cool, organic-rich, acid soils that retain moisture and when grown well form dense slowly spreading clumps.