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Description:
Devil's bit is a perennial arising from a short, stout rhizome with a nearly evergreen basal rosette. The basal leaves are spatulate growing up to 8 inches in length by 2.5 inches in width. Stem leaves are much reduced upward. Female and male flowers are borne on spikes on separate plants with female plants growing up to 4 feet and height and male plants obtaining a height of up to 28 inches. Male spikes are approximately 5 inches long, erect at first and drooping with age. Male flowers develop white but turn yellowish with age exhibiting tepals to 0.2 inches in length with showy stamens nearly the same length. The female spike is erect and under 2 inches in length when flowering, but elongates after flowering is complete to nearly 12 inches in length. Female flowers are smaller, greenish white and less conspicuous than male flowers (Carman 2001).
Habitat:
Devil's bit inhabits variety of habitats, including moist slopes, bottomland forests, wet savannas, and open calcareous wet meadows, dry woods, barrens, and bluffs. Devil's bit is generally not found in the eastern Coastal Plain (NatureServe 2003).
Range:
Devil's bit is found in eastern North America from Michigan and Ontario east to Massachusetts and south to Louisiana and Florida. It is relatively rare in the northern portion of the range and more common in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina (NatureServe 2003).
References
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