# Uvularia

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***Uvularia*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of flowering plants in the family [Colchicaceae](/source/Colchicaceae), which is closely related to the [lily](/source/Lily) family ([Liliaceae](/source/Liliaceae)). They are commonly called **bellworts**, **bellflowers**, or **merrybells**. The genus name is derived from the Latin *ūvula* meaning "little grape", likely because of the way the flowers hang downward. For the same reason *Uvularia* may also refer to the similarly derived [palatine uvula](/source/Palatine_uvula), which hangs down from the [soft palate](/source/Soft_palate) in the mouth. The plants are often found growing on wooded slopes or in ravines and they spread by [stolons](/source/Stolons),[2][3][4] or stoloniferous rhizomes.[5] The plants are usually 45–60 cm in height and bear one or two flowers per stem in April and May, that hang downward from the axils of the leaves.

## Species

There are five [species](/source/Species) of *Uvularia*. All are exclusively native ([endemic](/source/Endemic)) to [North America](/source/North_America). They grow from northern [Florida](/source/Florida) to [Nova Scotia](/source/Nova_Scotia) west to [Manitoba](/source/Manitoba) and south to [Texas](/source/Texas).[6][7]

- *[Uvularia floridana](/source/Uvularia_floridana)* Chapm. – Florida bellwort - [FL](/source/Florida) [GA](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)) [SC](/source/South_Carolina) [AL](/source/Alabama) [MS](/source/Mississippi)
- *[Uvularia grandiflora](/source/Uvularia_grandiflora)* Sm. – large-flowered bellwort - [Ontario](/source/Ontario), [Québec](/source/Qu%C3%A9bec), E + C United States
- *[Uvularia perfoliata](/source/Uvularia_perfoliata)* L. – perfoliate bellwort - [Ontario](/source/Ontario), E + SC United States
- *[Uvularia puberula](/source/Uvularia_puberula)* Michx. – mountain bellwort - EC United States
- *[Uvularia sessilifolia](/source/Uvularia_sessilifolia)* L. – sessile bellwort - E Canada, NE + SE United States, [Great Lakes](/source/Great_Lakes_region), [Mississippi Valley](/source/Mississippi_Valley)

## Description

*Uvularia* species are herbaceous perennials with erect, simple or twice branched stems. Leaves alternate, sessile or perfoliate. Single or sometimes paired flowers hang downward from the top of the stems appearing axillary but are in fact terminal. They bloom in spring with bell shaped flowers composed of long tepals. Fruits are three lobed, greenish to yellowish brown in color, producing 1 to 3 roundish seeds per [locule](/source/Locule).[8]

## Cultivation

These unobtrusive [woodland](/source/Woodland) plants are used in woodland and shade gardens.[9]

## References

1. Hayashi, Kazuhiko; Yoshida, Seiji; Kato, Hidetoshi; Utech, Frederick H.; Whigham, Dennis F.; Kawanoi, Shoichi (1998). "Molecular Systematics of the Genus Uvularia and Selected Liliales Based upon mat K and rbc L Gene Sequence Data". *Plant Species Biology*. **13** (2–3): 129–146. [doi:10.1111/j.1442-1984.1998.tb00254.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-1984.1998.tb00254.x)

1. Whigham, Dennis & Chapa, Anita (1999). "Timing and intensity of herbivory: Its influence on the performance of clonal woodland herbs". *Plant Species Biology*. **14** (1): 29–37. [doi:10.1046/j.1442-1984.1999.00004.x](https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-1984.1999.00004.x)

1. Kudoh, Hiroshi; Shibaike, Hiroyuki; Takasu, Hideki; Whigham, Dennis F.; Kawano, Shoichi (1999). "Gene structure and determinants of clonal structure in a temperate deciduous woodland herb, *Uvularia perfoliata*". *Journal of Ecology*. **87** (2): 244–257. [Bibcode:1999JEcol..87..244K](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999JEcol..87..244K). [doi:10.1046/j.1365-2745.1999.00355.x](https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.1999.00355.x). [S2CID 30424324](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:30424324)

1. Wijesinghe, Dushyantha K. & Whigham, Dennis F. (2001). "Nutrient foraging in woodland herbs: a comparison of three species of Uvularia (Liliaceae) with contrasting belowground morphologies". *American Journal of Botany*. **88** (6): 1071–9. P.O. Box 28, Edgewater, Maryland 21037 USA: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. [doi:10.2307/2657090](https://doi.org/10.2307/2657090). [JSTOR 2657090](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2657090). [PMID 11410472](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11410472)

1. ["*Uvularia*"](http://wcsp.science.kew.org/qsearch.do?page=quickSearch&plantName=Uvularia). *[World Checklist of Selected Plant Families](/source/World_Checklist_of_Selected_Plant_Families) (WCSP)*. [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](/source/Royal_Botanic_Gardens,_Kew)[dead link]

1. Charlotte Adelman & Bernard L. Schwartz (21 September 2011). [*The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants*](https://books.google.com/books?id=u-9HBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT77). Ohio University Press. pp. 77–. ISBN 978-0-8214-4356-9.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Uvularia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvularia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvularia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.