Alaska Wildflowers | White | Purple
Tofieldia coccinea
purple featherling
Common Names
tofieldie écarlate
tofieldie septentrionale
northern tofieldia
northern asphodel
northern false asphodel
purple featherling
Synonyms
none
Subspecies
none
Genus: Tofieldia
Family: Tofieldiaceae (false asphodel)
Order: Alismatales
taxonomic heirarchy
Etymology
Scientific Name: Tofieldia coccinea
The genus Tofieldia is named in honor of the English botanist Thomas Tofield (1730-1779), who significantly contributed to the study of British flora. The specific epithet coccinea is derived from the Latin word “coccineus,” meaning “scarlet” or “bright red,” referring to this species’ deep red stem.
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Common Name: Purple Featherling
The common name “purple featherling” likely refers to the distinctive purple hue of the flowers and the feather-like appearance of the plant’s inflorescence.
Common Name: Northern False Asphodel
The name “northern false asphodel” indicates that this plant resembles true asphodels but belongs to a different botanical family. In Greek mythology, the term “asphodel” is associated with death and the underworld, where the Asphodel Meadows were one of the three divisions of the underworld alongside Elysium and Tartarus. The Asphodel Meadows were the realm where the majority of the deceased resided. The term “false asphodel” clarifies that Tofieldia coccinea is not a true asphodel. “Northern” refers to the plant’s distribution in the northern regions.
Duration – Growth Habit
Perennial – Forb/herb
Identification and Information
Tofieldia coccinea is a small perennial herb in the Tofieldiaceae family, as recognized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). However, the Cronquist system still classifies it within the lily family (Liliaceae). It grows from short rhizomes. The stems are deep red or purple, circular, erect, and commonly 2-12 cm tall (up to 20 cm). It has mostly deciduous basal leaves, dying annually. The leaves are broadly linear, 2-6 cm long, 5-veined, sheathed at the base, and folded like the leaves of an iris. There may be 1-3 (usually one) smaller bract-like cauline leaves (along the stem).
The inflorescence is a dense, head-like, cylindrical terminal cluster, 0.5-2.5 cm long, consisting of 5-30 small flowers about 2 mm in diameter (5-15 flowers according to the Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago). The cluster elongates and becomes less dense with age. The flowers have six tepals, three petal-like, and three sepal-like. The tepals are greenish, tinged with pinkish cream to deep crimson. The inner tepals are slightly longer than the outer ones. Each flower has six stamens and a 3-styled pistil. The stamens are approximately equal in length to the tepals or slightly longer, with filaments that are not strongly flattened or dilated at the base. The ovary is ellipsoid, and the styles are 0.3-0.8 mm long. This species often displays various flower colors, from purple to deep red, with variations including pink and yellowish hues.
The fruit is a dry, spherical capsule 2-3 mm long containing 15-30 seeds. The capsules are broadly obovoid to globose and turn dark purple as they mature. They dehisce (open when mature) to release the seeds.
T. coccinea is similar in appearance to and is known to hybridize with Tofieldia pusilla.
Uses
For information only (typically historical) – I take no responsibility for adverse effects from the use of any plant.
No traditional, medicinal, or culinary uses were found.
Distribution and Habitat
Map data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), NatureServe Explorer, and Kew
Tofieldia coccinea is a northern species found in Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, Siberia, Mongolia, eastern China, North and South Korea, and Japan.
It’s primary habitat is in tundra, in moderately drained areas with low organic content in montane to alpine zones.
Classification
| Rank | Scientific Name (Common Name) |
|---|---|
| Class | Equisetopsida |
| Subclass | Magnoliidae |
| Superorder | Lilianae |
| Order | Alismatales |
| Family | Tofieldiaceae (false asphodel) |
| Genus | Tofieldia |
| Species | Tofieldia coccinea (purple featherling, northern false asphodel) |
References and Further Reading
Guidebook
none
Classification and Taxonomy
Canadensys. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/taxon/9415?lang=en
Integrated Taxonomic Information System. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea (TSN 43049). Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=43049
USDA. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea – Plant Profile. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=TOCO
Etymology
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Tofieldia. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofieldia
Coccineus, coccinea, coccineum. (n.d.). In Latin-Dictionary.net. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://latin-dictionary.net/definition/10613/coccineus-coccinea-coccineum
Asphodel. (n.d.). In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/asphodel
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Greek underworld. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_underworld
Uses
none
Map and Distribution
GBIF. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://www.gbif.org/species/2864343
NatureServe Explorer. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.141247/Tofieldia_coccinea
Kew Science. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:542259-1
Description and Information
Flora of North America. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from http://floranorthamerica.org/Tofieldia_coccinea
Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://nature.ca/aaflora/data/www/litoco.htm
Hultén, E. (1968). Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants (1st ed.) (pg. 304). Stanford University Press.
Ecological Atlas of Denali’s Flora. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://ecologicalatlas.uaf.edu/index.php/browse-plant-species/atlas-page/?nps_id=2017
E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. (2024). Tofieldia coccinea. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Tofieldia%20coccinea&redblue=Both&lifeform=7
