About Zigadenus glaberrimus Michx.
Zigadenus glaberrimus Michx. typically grows between 60 and 120 cm (2 to 4 ft) in height. It produces 30 to 70 flowers arranged in panicles. Each individual flower is bell-shaped, white to cream in color, and measures 20 to 30 mm (0.8 to 1.2 in) across. The flower's tepals stay attached to the fruit capsule as the capsule develops. Mature seed capsules are cone-shaped, 10 to 15 mm (0.4 to 0.6 in) long, and 4 to 7 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in) across. This species flowers from mid-July through September. It grows naturally in pine bogs, savannas, and sandy pinelands in the U.S. states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Like all species formerly placed in the genus Zigadenus, all parts of Z. glaberrimus are toxic, because they contain alkaloids including zygacine. Grazing animals such as sheep and cattle can be poisoned by this plant, and this species or its close relatives have caused fatalities in humans.
