Meadow Alexanders

Zizia trifoliata, Meadows Alexander, is a plant found throughout the eastern parts of the U.S. such as Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vancouver, and Wyoming. Georgia is the only state that shows and vulnerability to Zizia trifoliata (Natureserve, 2014).

Petal color is generally yellow-green to dull yellow in montane populations but can vary to a yellow-maroon in piedmont regions. (Lindsey & Bell, 1982: 235). The nectar sugar concentration for Z. trifoliata ranges from 4.2-13.4% weight to volume (Lindsey and Bell, 1985: 234). Nectar and pollen are used to attract insect pollinators Evylaeus macoupinensis (Halictidae), Meliscaeva cinctella (Syrphidae), and Andrena ziziae (Andrenidae )(Lindsey & Bell, 1982: 234). The maroon colored petals may serve to attract Halictideae (Lindsey and Bell, 1985: 243). Z. trifoliata had 50-80% fruit sets per plant and was correlated to percentage of stigmas pollinated (Lindsey and Bell, 1985: 241-2).

Zizia trifoliata (Michx.) Fernald, Rhodora 42: 298. 1940
Sison trifoliatum Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 168. 1803. Zizia aurea var. Bebbii Coult. & Rose, Bot. Gaz. 12: 138. 1887. Zizia Bebbii Britton; Vail, Mem. Torrey Club 2: 35. 1890. Zizia arenicola Rose, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 29: 442. 1905.
Plants 5-6 dm. high; basal leaves ovate in general outline, excluding the petioles 4-6 cm. long, 5-S cm. broad, 1-2-ternately compound, the leaflets ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-5 cm. long, 1-2 cm. broad, usually distinct, shallowly dentate; petioles 3.5-8 cm. long; cauline leaves pinnate, the leaflets becoming lanceolate and often confluent upwards; peduncles 8-12 cm. long; involucel of a few, inconspicuous, linear, acute bractlets, 1-2 mm. long, shorter or longer than the pedicels; rays 4-11, lax and spreading, unequal, 5-S cm. long; pedicels 1-2 mm. long; fruit oval, 3-4.5 mm. long, 2-3.5 mm. broad, the ribs filiform; oil-tubes solitary in the intervals, 2 on the commissure; seed-face nearly plane.
Type locality: Virginia and North Carolina, Canby.
Distribution: Virginia to Florida, west to Arkansas (Heller 841, Small &" Heller 218).

Zizia latifolia Small, Man. SE. Fl. 982. 1933
Plants 3-4 dm. high; basal leaves deltoid-ovate in general outline, excluding the petioles 6-8 cm. long, 9-11 cm. broad, ternate, the leaflets ovate to orbicular, 4-6 cm. long, 3-5 cm. broad, distinct, coarsely and sharply serrate; petioles 10-14 cm. long; cauline leaves like the basal ; peduncles 4-7 cm. long ; involucel of a few, inconspicuous, linear, acute bractlets, 1-2 mm. long; rays 8-10, spreading-ascending, unequal, 1-3 cm. long; pedicels 1-2 mm. long; fruit oblong, 2-4 mm. long, 1.5-2 mm. broad, the ribs filiform; oil-tubes solitary in the intervals, 2 on the commissure; seed-face slightly concave.
Type locality: Near Bristol, Florida, Curliss. Distribution: Known only from the type locality.

Zizia trifoliata, known by the common name of meadow alexanders, is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae. It is a perennial herb, native primarily to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States, but is less commonly found throughout Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas.