Kendall County (IL) Forest Preserve District
Twinleaf
Jeffersonia diphylla
[C-value
10]
Family
Berberidaceae
Blooms mid-April -
mid-May
The native Twinleaf is rare in our area and is monitored as one of our Plants of Concern. Its scientific name honors Thomas Jefferson who was a patron of botany. Twinleaf prefers dappled sunlight in deciduous woods, especially along the northern slopes of woodland ravines with a moist, rich, well-drained, limestone soil. This perennial is a clump-forming plant that typically grows to 8” tall when in flower in early spring, but continues to grow thereafter eventually reaching 18” tall by the time its fruit ripens. It has long-stemmed, blue-green basal leaves (to 6” long) which are deeply divided into two lobes that give the appearance of being two separate "twin leaves". In early spring, white cup-shaped flowers (1” diameter) bloom singly atop rigid leafless stalks to 8” tall. Each flower has eight petals. Its fruits have an interesting pear-shaped pod with a lid.
Twinleaf at a Kendall County Forest Preserve May 5, 2014
The flowers are somewhat like Bloodroot, but the plants are unrelated and in different families.
Twinleaf at a Kendall County Forest Preserve May 4, 2013
Twinleaf foliage and fruits at a Kendall County Forest Preserve May 12, 2015
Twinleaf fruit on private property May 13, 2017
Twinleaf was used by Native Americans to treat sores, ulcers and rheumatism; hence its other common name Rheumatism Root. The root is emetic (causes vomiting) in large doses and expectorant in smaller doses. Reminder: see our Do Not Disturb Notice.
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