Veratrum is a genus that used to be considered to be in the Liliaceae family and has been proposed to be included in Melanthiaceae with Zigadenus and Xerophyllum. These plants are deciduous with rhizomes with fleshy storage roots. Many can get quite tall and are often found in wet places. They are plants of the Pacific Northwest United States.
Veratrum fimbriatum known as the Fringed Corn Lily, is rare and restricted to shaded wet places on the Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts. It has white flowers with a yellow base and the petals are fringed. Leaves are large and pleated, emerging in spring, when they make a statement. By the time the plants blooms late summer, the leaves can be a bit weathered.
These pictures taken late April 2004 show the leaves after they have emerged and still look very attractive. In the first picture you can see the habitat companions: Oxalis oregana, Asarum caudatum and Polystichum munitum. The second shows a grouping of plants.
The pictures below taken August 2003 show the flowers. All photos by Bob Rutemoeller.
Veratrum nigrum, The photo below was taken in the Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, zone 7 garden of Jim McKenney. This is a plant many would grow for its foliage alone. This is a young plant which has not yet bloomed - yet its foliage is already attracting attention.
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