Twinleaf’s Fleeting April Blooms

Twinleaf blooming in Frick Park, Pittsburgh PA

Let’s add another flower to the list of early spring bloomers: Jeffersonia diphylla, commonly called Twinleaf. The common name gives a major identification clue: it has two leaves on one stalk—or so it seems. It’s just one leaf pinched dramatically into two. Some describe it as looking like butterfly wings, a pair of elephant ears, or weirder yet, a set of lungs. While the leaves persist into the fall, its small white flowers are fleeting, usually appearing in April, and are then replaced by a distinctive seed head.

This plant is considered rare even though it is native to the eastern half of the U.S. It prefers rich forest floors, especially in the Appalachians, Ohio River Valley, and Great Lakes, so it might seem slightly less rare if you frequent the woods in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, or Ohio. 

A view of the twinned leaf from above.

What’s in a name? 

It’s clear how it got its common name, but why is it called Jeffersonia? Buckle up for a tale of Enlightenment Age plant collectors. In the 1700s, John Clayton, a Virginia colonist, sent a dried sample of Twinleaf to a fellow plant collector in England, who shared it with Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus, lacking complete information, classed it and named it Podophyllum diphylla.

Fast forward to 1789. Andre Michaux, a royal botanist for France, was in Virginia recording and collecting plants. He gathered Twinleaf from the Blue Ridge Mountains and gave some to Philadelphia botanist William Bartram. Bartram planted it in his garden (the now famous Bartram’s Garden), where it attracted the interest of botanist Benjamin Smith Barton. Through close study, he and Bartram determined that Twinleaf was not a Podophyllum after all. A new name was in order! So, Barton named it after his friend, the eminent statesman and plantsman, Thomas Jefferson. 

All this plant history! As you may have already guessed, the Iroquois and Cherokee are at least two of the indigenous groups that had been using Twinleaf medicinally for generations before all these botanists came on the scene. However, the internet is not forthcoming with what they call it in their language. Drop me a message if you know!

Planting Twinleaf 

If you’d like some for your shade garden, you can purchase seeds or plants from reputable native plant nurseries. However, you’re better off with a potted version, as the seeds can take two years to germinate after planting. (And, as you already know, don’t collect it from the wild. Leave it be!)