North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Gillenia trifoliata

Gillenia trifoliata (L.) Moench

mountain indian-physic, bowman’s root

Synonym(s): Porteranthus trifoliatus
Cultivar(s): Pink Profusion

Gillenia trifoliata (Mountain Indian-physic)

Image ID: 14681
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: GITR6
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Gillenia trifoliata
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-02-15

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1356	Pink Profusion	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: GILLE2
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Gillenia
GENUS AUTHORITY: Moench
GENUS COMMON: Indian-physic
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 2 species, herbs, of e. North America. The contention that Gillenia is a later homonym of Gillena and must therefore be rejected for the later name Porteranthus has been ruled against (Robertson 1974; Brummitt 1988; Parkinson 1988).
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Nesom in FNA (2014); Robertson (1974)=Z; Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ROSACE
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Rosaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Rose Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 85-95 genera and 2000-3000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan, but mainly boreal and temperate.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Phipps in FNA (2014); Potter et al. (2007); Eriksson et al. (2003); Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004); Ertter (2007).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect perennial found in moist forests, forest edges and on road banks.
STEMS: Stems 1-several from woody root crown, branched, thinly hairy.
LEAVES: Leaves alternate; nearly sessile and with linear stipules (about 1/4 in. long); divided into 3 oblong-oval to lance-shaped, finely toothed leaflets (to 4 in. long); thin and smooth to hairy.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers on reddish stalks in a widely branched, open, terminal cluster; white (sometimes pink-tinged); 1-1 1/2 in. wide; consisting of 5 widely spreading, unequal, linear petals and a reddish, tubular, 5-lobed calyx that persists after petals drop.
FRUITS:
COMMENTS: The similar G. stipulata has leaflets of lower leaves lobed rather than toothed and its stipules are wider and longer (1/3-3/4 in.); it is less frequently seen and more likely on mafic/calcareous substrates.
HEIGHT: 2-3 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb, Subshrub

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Trifoliate
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Bilateral (Zygomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: April-June

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: White

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x		x

FRUITING PERIOD: Aug-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Mountain Indian-physic has beautiful starry white flowers tinged with pink, each with five slender, pointed petals, in early summer. Its white flowers are held in loose corymbs above its foliage. Its stems are a dark reddish color, as are its persistent calyxes. This member of the rose family has an open, airy habit. It is an easily grown and adaptable perennial that is not often offered for sale. This is a long-lived perennial that is tolerant of droughts, once it has become well established.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
367	2011-0239	2011-11-29	371	View
406	2014-0010	2020-01-28	371	View
2075	1986-1873			View
6712	1996-0367			View
8565	2006-0144	2006-08-01		View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
371	HORT	2010-09-11	Walker	View
1605	HORT	2005-08-02	Lewandowski	View
1752	HORT	2005-01-01	Bryan	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
893	367	44	NCBG staff	2011-11-03	View
894	367	44	Liloia	2012-05-31	View
952	406	74	Liloia	2014-08-01	View
3435	2075	74	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
9480	6712	114	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
13755	0	71	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: GITR6
USDA Common Name: Bowman's Root
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, DC, DE, GA, IL, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, WV), CAN (ON)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb, Subshrub

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Gillenia trifoliata
COMMON NAME: Mountain Indian-physic
SYNONYMY: [= F, FNA, G, Pa, RAB, Va, WV; = Porteranthus trifoliatus (Linnaeus) Britton - C, K, S, W, Z]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-Jun; Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Moist forests, roadbanks, forest edges.
COMMENTS: ON west to MI, south to SC, AL, nc. GA, and MO.
RANGE MAP: Gillenia trifoliata.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Rosaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Rose Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 85-95 genera and 2000-3000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan, but mainly boreal and temperate.
REFERENCE: Phipps in FNA (2014); Potter et al. (2007); Eriksson et al. (2003); Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004); Ertter (2007).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Gillenia Moench (Indian-physic)
SUMMARY: A genus of 2 species, herbs, of e. North America. The contention that Gillenia is a later homonym of Gillena and must therefore be rejected for the later name Porteranthus has been ruled against (Robertson 1974; Brummitt 1988; Parkinson 1988).
REFERENCE: Nesom in FNA (2014); Robertson (1974)=Z; Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Gillenia trifoliata in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Gillenia trifoliata in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Gillenia trifoliata in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Gillenia trifoliata in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Gillenia trifoliata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Gillenia trifoliata

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 14681 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 19346 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 29313 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)