Aletris farinosa Linnaeus. Common name: Northern White Colic-root, Mealy Colic-root, Stargrass. Phenology: Late Apr-Jun; Jul-Sep. Habitat: Pine savannas, pine flatwoods, seepage bogs, mafic fens and barrens, upland hardpan woodlands and savannas, sandy woodlands, meadows, "salt meadows" (Tatnall 1946), roadbanks. Distribution: S. ME, s. ON, and se. MN south to s. GA, FL (Wunderlin & Hansen 2011), LA (and e. TX), the only species of the genus not restricted (or very nearly so) to the Coastal Plain.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, ETx1, F, FNA26, G, GW1, Il, K1, K3, K4, Mi, NE, NY, Pa, RAB, S, S13, Tat, Tn, Tx, Va, W, WH3, Spaulding et al (2021), Weigant (2002), Zomlefer (1997b)
Links to other floras: = Aletris farinosa - FNA26
Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FAC
- Great Plains: FAC
- Midwest: FAC
- Northcentral & Northeast: FAC
Heliophily ⓘ: 8
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.




Feedback
See something wrong or missing on about Aletris farinosa? 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.
Horticultural Information
Intro: Scapose, rhizomatous perennial of pine savannas, pine flatwoods, seepage bogs, mafic fens and barrens, upland woodlands and road banks.
Stems: Stem an unbranched, mostly naked flowering scape with a few small bracts, rising from the center of a basal rosette.
Leaves: Leaves spreading-ascending in a basal rosette, lance-shaped, 1 1/2-7 1/2 in. long, yellowish green.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Flowers in a spike-like raceme occupying the top 4-14 in. of the scape, white, ¼-3/8 in. long, cylindric to urn-shaped, composed of 6 fused petals that at full bloom flare into 6 pointed lobes; there is a slight constriction of the tube just below the lobes, and the tube's outer surface is granular-bumpy.
Fruits: Fruit a beaked, oval capsule containing tiny reddish-brown seeds.
Comments: The similar Aletris obovata has slightly smaller flowers (less than ¼ in. long) in which the corolla lobes remain closed, giving it a rounded tip; it is restricted to coastal pine savannas at the southern end of our range.
Height: 1-3.5 ft.
plant sale text: White colicroot is a perennial herb and member of the lily family that resembles the orchid, nodding ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes cernua). It has grass-like leaves that are topped by a round stem with a spike-like cluster of small white, urn-shaped flowers. White colicroot spreads by means of underground rhizomes and forms rosettes of leaves. Traditionally, the roots were gathered and used to treat colic.
bloom table text:
description: Scapose, rhizomatous perennial of pine savannas, pine flatwoods, seepage bogs, mafic fens and barrens, upland woodlands and road banks.
stems: Stem an unbranched, mostly naked flowering scape with a few small bracts, rising from the center of a basal rosette.
leaves: Leaves spreading-ascending in a basal rosette, lance-shaped, 1 1/2-7 1/2 in. long, yellowish green.
inflorescence:
flowers: Flowers in a spike-like raceme occupying the top 4-14 in. of the scape, white, ¼-3/8 in. long, cylindric to urn-shaped, composed of 6 fused petals that at full bloom flare into 6 pointed lobes; there is a slight constriction of the tube just below the lobes, and the tube's outer surface is granular-bumpy.
fruits: Fruit a beaked, oval capsule containing tiny reddish-brown seeds.
comments: The similar Aletris obovata has slightly smaller flowers (less than ¼ in. long) in which the corolla lobes remain closed, giving it a rounded tip; it is restricted to coastal pine savannas at the southern end of our range.
cultural notes:
germination code: 2, 4
native range: eastern North America