Uvularia sessilifolia

Sessile Bellwort Colchicaceae

The sessile-leaved bellwort, and one of those North American woodland plants that is easy to overlook until you see it growing naturally, when its graceful stems and dangling straw-yellow flowers make perfect sense. Uvularia sessilifolia forms slowly spreading colonies from slender rhizomes, producing arching, branching stems clothed in sessile, narrow to broadly elliptic leaves. The leaves clasp the stem rather less dramatically than those of U. perfoliata, remaining distinctly non-perfoliate.

In spring, usually from April into June, each flowering stem produces one or occasionally more pendant, narrow bell-shaped flowers in a rather lovely pale straw-yellow. They are smaller and more delicately proportioned than those of U. grandiflora, giving the plant a quieter, more refined appearance.

It is a genuine woodland plant rather than a plant merely pretending to be one. In nature it occurs in moist hardwood coves, alluvial bottomlands, thickets and, surprisingly, drier woods towards the northern part of its range, from near sea level to around 1000m. 

Distribution

Uvularia sessilifolia has a remarkably extensive distribution across eastern and central North America. Its range extends in Canada from Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, southwards through much of the eastern United States. In the USA it occurs from Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Texas northwards to the Dakotas and Minnesota, and eastwards to the Atlantic states including Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Connecticut. 

In other words, this is not a narrowly Appalachian specialist but a plant with a substantial transcontinental east–central North American range. The northern populations encounter considerably colder winters than those of the southeastern states, which helps explain its excellent hardiness in Britain.

The species is particularly characteristic of deciduous woodland, favouring humus-rich soils with reasonable moisture but tolerating a surprisingly broad range of woodland conditions. In cultivation, deep or dappled shade and a moisture-retentive, well-drained soil suit it perfectly. 

Nomenclature

The accepted name is Uvularia sessilifolia L., first published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The epithet sessilifolia means “sessile-leaved”, referring to the leaves being attached directly to the stem without a distinct leaf stalk.

Two older names are encountered in botanical literature: Oakesia sessilifolia and Oakesiella sessilifolia. Both are synonyms, and Uvularia sessilifolia is the currently accepted name. 

Height: 30–45cm
Spread: 40–60cm, eventually more through rhizomatous spread
Flowering: April–June
Aspect: Partial to deep shade
Soil: Moist, humus-rich, well drained; tolerant of somewhat drier woodland soils once established
Hardiness: H7

A quietly beautiful woodland perennial, spreading gradually rather than rampantly and producing its little straw-coloured bells just when the deciduous canopy is beginning to close. Less flamboyant than U. grandiflora, but rather more widely travelled — from Florida to Manitoba and apparently in no particular hurry to tell anyone about it.