Kendall County (IL) Forest Preserve District
Virginia
Waterleaf
(Eastern Waterleaf)
Hydrophyllum virginianum [C-value 5]
Waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae)
Blooms May -
mid-June
The lovely native Virginia Waterleaf is common in our area. It prefers rich deciduous woodlands, savannas and woodland openings with light shade and slightly moist rich loamy soil. This perennial is a beautiful spring flower, 1-2' tall, with compound leaves having 3-5 coarsely toothed green leaflets with variegated "water spots" and a deeply 3-lobed terminal leaflet. The stalks terminate in dense cymes of flowers about 1-2" across with about 8-20 flowers. Each flower is about 1/2" long with a 5-lobed corolla, a hairy green calyx with 5 linear teeth, 5 protruding stamens, and a slender white style divided at its tip. The corolla is light blue to lavender to almost white with oblong lobes spreading apart just slightly when the flower is fully open.
Virginia Waterleaf in woods at Richard Young Forest Preserve May 21, 2015
Virginia Waterfleaf (pre-blooming) at Pickerill/Pigott Forest Preserve May 9, 2015
Virginia Waterfleaf in woods at Pickerill/Pigott Forest Preserve May 28, 2014
Virginia Waterfleaf in woods at Pickerill/Pigott Forest Preserve May 28, 2014
Virginia Waterleaf in woods at Millbrook South Forest Preserve May 12, 2015
Virginia Waterfleaf at Millbrook South Forest Preserve May 4, 2013 (note distinctive "water-spot" leaf coloring)
Virginia Waterleaf at Baker Woods Forest Preserve May 1, 2012
This wildflower benefits from occasional thinning of
woodlands. Its populations have declined in response to invasions from
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