Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Red River Scaleseed - Spermolepis inermis   (Nuttall ex de Candolle) Mathias & Constance
Members of Apiaceae:
Members of Spermolepis with account distribution info or public map:
Google Images
Section 6 » Order Apiales » Family Apiaceae
Author(Nuttall ex de Candolle) Mathias & Constance
DistributionThree collections are known, all from the outer Coastal Plain: Carteret County in 1897, Onslow County in 1951, and New Hanover County (fide RAB 1968).

Native of the central and southern U.S. plains; adventive eastwards.
AbundanceVery rare.
HabitatDry roadsides, no other data.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting April-August.
IdentificationMembers of Spermolepis are wispy, branched plants that may grow a few inches to a foot or more tall; they tend to have ascending or virgate branches, often dichotomous. The leaves are divided into linear or filiform segments. This one has fruits with little rounded bumps (vs. pointy bumps in the native S. divaricata); also its umbel rays are shorter (1-12 mm long vs. 5-26 mm long in that species).
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankG5
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
Select a source
AllHerbaria
Select an occurrence type
AllCollection_non_natural