Umbrella Leaf is a NC native wildflower found in mountain seepages and brook-banks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The unusual large leaves are topped with a rounded flower head of white blooms from May to June which is followed by blue fruits on red stems. The wildflower requires shade to part shade, moist soils and will do well along stream banks, the edge of ponds and a moist woodland setting. It slowly spreads by rhizomes and can be started with seeds or root cuttings.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Occasionally Wet
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf margin
Dentate; Lobed
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, > 6 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Flowering plants usually have two peltate leaves (stem attached to the center of the leaf) that are 10-12 inches across or more. They are dark green, deeply veined, scalloped and divided into 2 parts with each part having 5-9 pointed lobes. Non-flowering plants have only one leaf. Leaves are held above the ground like an umbrella.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Star
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Small white flowers with six sepals and six oval-shaped petals bloom in a rounded flower head.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Blue
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit detail
In the summer the stems will turn red and will hold small blue fruits into fall.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Blue Ridge Mountains of the southern Appalachians
Distribution
AL , GA , NC , SC , TN , VA
Wildlife value
Birds will eat the fruits
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Fruit type
Berry
Uses (ethnobotany)
Cherokee Indians used it to treat a variety of ailments and as a disinfectant.