| Author | L. | |
| Distribution | Throughout the Mountains and Piedmont, with records for all counties. Scattered over most of the western and central Coastal Plain, but absent in the far eastern counties and mostly absent in some southern counties.
This is a widespread Eastern species, ranging from eastern Canada south to northern FL and eastern TX.
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| Abundance | Common in the Mountains and Piedmont; fairly common to common in the western Coastal Plain along brownwater rivers, but otherwise mostly uncommon in the province, except very rare to absent in the far eastern and some southern counties. | |
| Habitat | This is a characteristic species of rich forested slopes. It grows in Rich Cove Forests, Basic Mesic Forests, and Mesic Mixed Hardwood Forests, along with other forests on moist to somewhat mesic slopes. |
| Phenology | Blooms in March and April, and fruits from April to May. | |
| Identification | This is the only species in the genus, and thus it has no close relatives and is quite unique, being a very familiar spring wildflower. It usually has a single leaf, rarely two, reniform-shaped but cut into about 7 rounded, finger-like lobes; the leaf is about 4 inches wide and somewhat shorter in length and is often somewhat curled when the flowering stalk first emerges. The single flower is on a bare stalk, reaching about 6-9 inches tall; the flower has 8-10 white petals, and the spread flower is often close to 3 inches across. The leaf or leaves remain above ground for most of the summer, long after the flowers are completed; most spring ephemeral species tend to wither and disappear above ground by the end of May. Fortunately, the species often grows in small stands, but never in large patches to the exclusion of other species. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
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| Other Common Name(s) | None | |
| State Rank | S5 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | UPL link |
| USACE-emp | UPL link |
