Twinleaf is native to eastern North America and eastern Asia. The genus Jeffersonia is named for
Thomas Jefferson by his friend, William Bartram, also a botanist. Twinleaf is rare now, considered threatened
or endangered in Georgia, Iowa, New York, and New Jersey.
Identification: Twinleaf is so named because each leaf
consists of two halves that are mirror images of each other, looking a bit like the wings of a green
moth. These slow-growing perennials reach
about 8″ (20 cm) in size. Each leaf and flower occurs atop its own
stem, and all the stems emerge from the base of the plant. Leaves are smooth-edged and two-lobed,
and fairly unique in shape. Each flower is white, with 8 petals, 1-1½″ (2.5-3.8 cm) in diameter.
Fruits, about 1¼″ (3.2 cm) high and 1″ (2.5 cm) in diameter, are thimble-shaped,
with a cap that makes them resemble a bell pepper.
Britton, Nathaniel Lord, and Brown, Addison, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions, 1913. Courtesy of the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database.