Squirrel Corn is a perennial plant that occurs throughout most of eastern North America.
Squirrel Corn grows from short, bulblet-bearing rhizomes. It is closely related, and similar in appearance, to Dutchman's Breeches. The flowers of both species have two pairs of petals. The outer pair form nectar spurs, which are rounded and heart-shaped in Squirrel Corn (and long and spreading in Dutchman’s Breeches). In both species, the two inner petals, which are much smaller than the outer ones, form the base of the flower. The leaves can be difficult to tell apart unless seen side by side: Both are compound, with finely divided leaflets, somewhat resembling a fern. Squirrel Corn leaves often have a more bluish tinge than Dutchman’s leaves.
Squirrel Corn is a spring ephemeral of rich, mesic cove and slope forests and rich flooplain foests (Weakley, et al., 2012).
The flowers of Squirrel Corn, like those of Dutchman's Breeches, are pollinated mainly by early bees (bumblebees) that have tongues long enough to reach into the spurs for nectar.
The seeds of both species are distributed by ants, which are attracted to fleshy or oily seed appendages called elaiosomes. Ants carry the seeds to their nests, eat the elaiosomes, and leave the seeds intact.
Because the foliage of Squirrel Corn and Dutchman's Breeches is toxic, it is usually avoided by mammalian herbivores, such as deer. This may partly explain why these two plant species can remain abundant in places where some other herbs have become uncommon.
There are 233 records in the project database.
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