PlantFiles: Turkey Beard
Xerophyllum asphodeloides

I discovered a few patches of this plant growing in a wild area not far from my home, on the edge of a Cedar swamp in Herbertsville, NJ. It caught my eye for its long, grasslike foilage that stays all winter. I found out what it was after a lot of research. I found it blooming on another visit around June 1st. From what seems like a clump of grass arises a long stem, 3 to 5 feet high, topped with a cluster of awesome seductive smelling white flowers, each flower about 3/4 inch across. An unusual looking (and pretty) white moth always seemed present.
You'd never know this plant is in the Lily family!
I've searched all around this particular swamp, and have found only a few patches. Most seem to like the edges, where the Pine forest meets the Cedar swamp. Always on the rises facing the West.
It is interesting to note that there are supposedly only two distinctly different places to find this wild plant. The Pine Barrens of New Jersey, and the mountains of Appalachia.
I think where I found them is considered the Northern tip of the Pine Belt.

This plant grows in the pine barrens of New Jersey and also the Appalachian woods of Virginia to Georgia and Alabama. Its flowers are star-shaped and look like feathers on the end of a green stick. ;)