Paris quadrifolia L. (Herb-paris)

Description of Paris quadrifolia L. – (Herb-paris)

Perennial herb of the Lily family -Liliaceae– up to 40 cm. Erect stems, springing from a crawling rhizome. Every stem has at the top a whorl of usually 4 sessile leaves, till 12 cm. The flower stands at the end of a long peduncle, having 4 exterior tepals, pale-greenish, and 4 interior ones very narrow and yellowish. 6-10 protruding stamens. The fruit is a berry, black-bluish. In humid deciduous woods of usually calcareous soil.