Virginia Waterleaf

Scientific Name: Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum. The genus, Hydrophyllum, is derived from Greek and means “water leaf”. The epithet virginianum is Latin for “of Virginia”.

Common Name: Virginia Waterleaf, Eastern Waterleaf. What do you see when you look at the young leaves? Perhaps the markings resemble droplets of water? Members of the genus Hydrophyllum are called “waterleaf” because the patterns on the leaves look like they are splashed with water.

Family: Boraginaceae (Borage family). A large and diverse family of plants, found worldwide. In Virginia, representatives of this family are annual, biennial or perennial herbs with simple leaves which may have smooth or toothed margins, and may be entire (unlobed) or lobed. They have flowers which are usually radially symmetrical (symmetrical all the way around the middle) and have 5 petals, which are typically white, blue or pink.¹

Average Height: 9-36 inches

Description: A perennial plant that often grows in colonies. The plant’s stems are upright or leaning and bear several leaves which are divided into 5 to 9 lobes, with sharply toothed margins. The leaves which emerge in early spring before the flowering stem are a somewhat darker, bluish green color and have small white markings on them which resemble droplets of water. The flowers are white or lavender, with 5 petals and are shaped like a bell or lampshade. They are borne in drooping cymes (clusters where the central flower blooms first) and have stamens that are almost twice as long as the petals.¹

Bloom time: Apr-May

Notes: This is the most common waterleaf across most of Virginia. In the southern and central mountains, the similar Appalachian waterleaf (H. virginianum var. atranthum) occurs. It looks very similar, but has dark purple flowers. The Canada waterleaf (H. canadense) is also similar but the leaves on the flowering stems are shaped similarly to a maple leaf. Before the plants have sent up flowering stalks, the cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) can also be confused with Virginia waterleaf, but the basal leaves lack the “watermarks”, have more prominent pale veins, and are typically a darker green and rough to the touch.^5,6

Range: Widespread and fairly common in the Piedmont and mountains of Virginia, less common in the southern mountains. Absent from the SE Piedmont and the southern ⅔ of the Coastal Plain. Widespread in the Midwestern and Northeastern US and eastern Canada, south in the Appalachians and Piedmont to North Carolina, with a few populations in Georgia and Alabama.^2,6

Geology/Soil: Typically found in soils composed of weathered mafic and calcareous rocks and nutrient-rich, sandy or loamy alluvium.

Habitat: Floodplain forests and rich cove and slope forests, sometimes in drier upland forests over nutrient-rich soils in the mountains.

Flora associations: Often found with a wide array of other spring-blooming wildflowers such as mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica), spring beauty (Claytonia virginica var. virginica), and cut-leaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata).

Fauna associations: The flowers are pollinated by a variety of native bee species, including the waterleaf mining bee (Andrena geranii), a specialist on waterleaf, geranium, and other spring wildflowers.^4,7

Human associations: The young leaves of this plant, and other species of Hydrophyllum, are edible raw and cooked. The Ojibwa and Menominee use a concoction of the roots to prevent diarrhea.^3,5

We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!

1 Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project, Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press.

2 “2013 BONAP North American Plant Atlas. TaxonMaps.” Bonap.net, bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Hydrophyllum. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

3 “BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.” Naeb.brit.org, naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=hydrophyllum+virginianum. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

4 Hilty, John. “Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum Virginianum).” Www.illinoiswildflowers.info, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/va_waterleaf.htm. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

5 Thayer, Samuel. The Forager’s Harvest : A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants. Birchwood, Wi, Forager’s Harvest, 2006.

6 Virginia Botanical Associates. “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Search Results for Hydrophyllum.” Vaplantatlas.org, 2024, www.vaplantatlas.org/index.php?s=hydrophyllum&c=&do=search%3Aadvanced&search=Search. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

7 “Waterleaf Mining Bee (Andrena Geranii) | Vermont Atlas of Life.” Val.vtecostudies.org, val.vtecostudies.org/projects/vtbees/andrena-geranii/. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

Definitions:

Spring ephemeral: A perennial plant which grows early in the spring – before the trees grow leaves – to take advantage of the sunlight reaching the forest floor.  In less than 2 months, the plant grows, blooms, and produces seed and then disappears from view as the leaves die back.

Stamen: The male reproductive part of a flower, comprised of a long filament topped with a pollen-bearing structure called an anther.

Biennial: A plant which completes its reproduction in two years. The first year, it grows leaves and then flowers in its second year, dying after setting seed.