Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex Linnaeus. Common name: Queen's-delight. Phenology: Apr-Jul (-Aug); May-Sep. Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, dryish Coastal Plain woodlands, other dry woodlands. Distribution: Se. VA south to s. FL, west to s. TX, s. NM, and Mexico (COA, MIC, TAM), north in the interior to KS and se. CO. Apparently disjunct inland in KY, based on a well-documented occurrence found by C.W. Short in 1840: "rare -- barrens of Kentucky" (M. Brock, pers.comm., 2024).
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Taxonomy Comments: S. sylvatica may contain an additional entity distributed in peninsular FL and s. GA, designated by Small (1933) as S. spathulata. S. spathulata putatively differs structurally from S. sylvatica in having smaller capsules, shorter seeds, and in having many individuals in a population with oblanceolate (common) to truly spatulate (infrequent) leaf blades. Nevertheless, individuals with narrowly elliptical leaves are present in most S. spathulata populations. The two entities occupy similar niches throughout their respective ranges, and are not genetically isolated.
Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, G, GrPl, RAB, Tx; = Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L. ssp. sylvatica — Va, Govaerts, Frodin, & Radcliffe-Smith (2000), Rogers (1951); > Stillingia spathulata (Müller of Aargau) Small — S, S13; < Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L. — Fl2, FNA12, K4, Mex, WH3; > Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L. — S, S13; > Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L. var. salicifolia Torr. — F; > Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L. var. sylvatica — F; Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L. Basionym: Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L. 1767
Links to other floras: < Stillingia sylvatica - FNA12
Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)
Heliophily ⓘ: 7
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Alan M. Cressler | Original Image ⭷
© Ryan Watson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ryan Watson source CC-BY | Original Image ⭷
© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Alan Cressler: Stillingia sylvatica, Wayne County, Georgia 1 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷Feedback
See something wrong or missing on about Stillingia sylvatica? Let us know here: (Please include your name and email if at all complicated so we can clarify if needed.) We greatly appreciate feedback, and will include updates from you in our next webapp update, which can take a few months. If a species is not keyed, that's because keying is ongoing. Please don't send us feedback about unkeyed species.
Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect perennial found in sandhills and (mostly) Coastal Plain dry woodlands.
Stems: Stems often branched from the base, yellow-green, smooth.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, angled upward, short-petiolate to sessile, elliptic, to 3 1/2 in. long, finely toothed (each tooth with a tiny, red gland), glossy smooth.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Flowers in a terminal spike, on which a few female flowers occupy the base and many male flowers are above; yellowish-green; with a round, cupped nectar gland to each side of each flower.
Fruits: Fruit a sessile, green, 3-lobed capsule.
Comments:
Height: 1-2 1/2 ft.
plant sale text:
bloom table text:
description: Erect perennial found in sandhills and (mostly) Coastal Plain dry woodlands.
stems: Stems often branched from the base, yellow-green, smooth.
leaves: Leaves alternate, angled upward, short-petiolate to sessile, elliptic, to 3 1/2 in. long, finely toothed (each tooth with a tiny, red gland), glossy smooth.
inflorescence:
flowers: Flowers in a terminal spike, on which a few female flowers occupy the base and many male flowers are above; yellowish-green; with a round, cupped nectar gland to each side of each flower.
fruits: Fruit a sessile, green, 3-lobed capsule.
comments:
cultural notes:
germination code:
native range:
0 unsaved edits on this page.