Mitella diphylla

Mitella diphylla (twoleaf miterwort,[1] two-leaved mitrewort,[2] or bishop's cap)[3] is a clump forming, open woodland plant native to northeast and midwest regions of North America.[4]

Two-leaved miterwort
Mitella diphylla from the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, NC
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Saxifragaceae
Genus: Mitella
Species:
M. diphylla
Binomial name
Mitella diphylla

Description

Miterwort grows from a rhizomatous root system with fibrous roots. Leaves are coarsely toothed with 3-5 shallow lobes.[5] Most leaves are basal, and there is one opposite pair of stemless leaves on each flower stalk.

Tiny flowers with finely divided, lacy white petals are produced in mid-spring in racemes on stems growing from 20 to 50 cm (8 to 20 in) tall.

The seeds are tiny, 1.2–1.6 mm (0.05–0.06 in),[5] produced in small green cups, formed from the sepals of the flower, and when ripe are shiny and black.[6] They are spread when raindrops hit the cups and splash the seeds out.[3]

It grows in high quality mesic forests on moist, mossy ledges and north-facing slopes. The Latin specific epithet diphylla means two-leaved and is in reference to the non-basal leaves.[4]

Ecology

The flowers produce both pollen and nectar. Due to their small size, they are mainly visited by small bees and flies: for instance, Lasioglossum sweat bees, small carpenter bees (Ceratina) and hoverflies.[7]

Cultivation

This species is grown as an ornamental plant in shade gardens. It prefers wet-mesic to dry soil and partial shade.[7]

References
  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Mitella diphylla". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. Hilty, John (2020). "Bishop's Cap (Mitella diphylla)". Illinois Wildflowers.
  4. "Mitella diphylla - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  5. Soltis, Douglas E.; Freeman, Craig C. (2009). "Mitella diphylla". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 8. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 26 April 2016 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  6. Chayka, Katy; Dziuk, Peter (2016). "Mitella diphylla (Two-leaf Miterwort)". Minnesota Wildflowers.
  7. Heather Holm (2014). Pollinators on Native Plants. Minnetonka, MN: Pollinator Press. pp. 110–111.
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