Uvularia sessilifolia L.
Sessile bellwort, wild oats, sessile-leaved bellwort
This native of eastern North America is found in woodlands. The common name is sessile, meaning “leaves are attached directly to the stem,” and bellwort, roughly meaning “plant with a bell-shaped flower.” (Wort simply means plant.)
Plants: These delicate woodland plants are 6–13″ (15–33 cm) high.
Leaves: Alternate, about 1½–3″ (4–8 cm) long and up to 1″ (2.5 cm) wide, with parallel veins, atop a thin reddish stem that forks in the middle.
Flowers: A single pale yellow flower (sometimes two) is about 1″ (2.5 cm) long, nodding, a narrow tube about ¼″ (6.3 mm) around.
Fruits: Capsules are ¾–1″ (2–3 cm), oval or round, with an abrupt point.
Habitats: Deciduous and mixed evergreen deciduous forests, woodlands and edges.
Online References:
Oakesiella sessilifolia (L.) S. Watson
5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hampshire 
4/27/2010 · Nashua River at Rte. 119, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 6″ (14 × 16 cm) 
8/17/2019 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
5/5/2010 · Nashua River at Rte 119, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) 
5/2/2021 · Maquoit Bay, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (14 × 11 cm) 
5/4/2024 · Lilly Pond Community Forest, Bath 
4/23/2016 · Big Tree/Porcupine Trail, Beaver, Hollis, Massachusetts 
4/30/2013 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 7″ (14 × 18 cm) 
5/18/2025 · Center Point Preserve, Bowdoinham, Maine · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 17 cm) 
4/23/2016 · Big Tree/Porcupine Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 3½″ (7 × 9.7 cm) 
5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hampshire 
5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm) 
5/10/2015 · Mt. Kearsarge, New Hampshire · ≈ 5 × 7″ (12 × 16 cm) 
5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hampshire 
4/23/2016 · Big Tree/Porcupine Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, Massachusetts 
4/15/1979 · Memphis, Tennessee · By Tim Chandler 
5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hampshire 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Liliidae | Includes lilies, orchids, and many others |
| Order | Liliales | Includes lilies, tulips, trilliums, greenbriars, and others |
| Family | Colchicaceae | A group of herbaceous plants with tuberous (potato-like) roots |
| Genus | Uvularia | You know that little “punching bag” in your throat? That’s your uvula. The name comes from the similar shape of the hanging flowers |
| Species | sessilifolia | Sessile-leaved |
Uvularia sessilifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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