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Carphephorus odoratissimus
Vanillaleaf
Synonym(s): Trilisa odoratissima
Florida native
A frequent herbaceous plant of moist slopes and pine flatwoods throughout north Florida southward into Osceola County. The range includes The range includes the southeastern coastal states from Louisiana into North Carolina.
The basal leaves of this perennial are present in the winter and spring before the glabrous stalk appears. The basal leaves are spatulate to broadly elliptic and can grow to 30cm (~1 ft.) long and have a distinct vanilla-like odor when dried. The stem leaves clasp the up to 1.2m (4 ft.) tall stem and are reduced upward. The flowers appear in usually flat-topped corymbs at the top of the stalk. The individual flower heads are less than 1cm (4/10 in.) long.
Carphephorus odoratissimus is a member of the Asteraceae - Aster family.
Other species of the Carphephorus genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Carphephorus carnosus - PINELAND CHAFFHEAD
Carphephorus corymbosus - COASTALPLAIN CHAFFHEAD
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Feb 17, 2020
