| Author | (LeConte) Kunth | |
| Distribution | Historical in the state. Collected only once, in 1949, in McDowell County, in the western Piedmont.
This is a species mostly of the Gulf drainages; it ranges north to southern IN and southeastern MO and then south to the FL Panhandle and eastern TX. There are many SC county records, from the Atlantic drainage. | |
| Abundance | Historical, and possibly extirpated from the state. It is State listed as Special Concern - Historical. Though the NCNHP gives its State Rank as SH, the website editors suggest SX (extirpated) is more appropriate. | |
| Habitat | This is a species of wetland habitats, which can range from rocky river shoals, to wet bottomland/alluvial forests, to wet meadows. In parts of its fairly large range (for a spider-lily), it can be found in mesic upland forests. | |
| Phenology | Blooms from June to August, and fruits from July to September. | |
| Identification | This spectacular species is very similar to the Coastal Plain H. crassifolia (in NC); see the Identification description in that account. Northern Spider-lily differs mainly in its Piedmont range, and particularly in the number of flowers in the inflorescence. This species has 3-7 flowers per plant, whereas H. crassifolia has only 1-2 or at times 3 flowers per plant. Sadly, you won't find the species in NC, but there are one or two very large riverine stands of this spider-lily in the SC Piedmont. Considering that as many as 6-7 flowers can be seen on a single plant, a stand of this species in full bloom is quite unforgettable. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | There are several varieties named for this species. The one present in NC is the nominate one -- H. occidentalis var. occidentalis. Some references name this species as H. caroliniana, which Weakley (2018) says is misapplied.
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| Other Common Name(s) | Hammock Spider-lily, Woodland Spider-lily | |
| State Rank | SH [SX] | |
| Global Rank | G4? | |
| State Status | [SC-H] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FAC link |
