Maianthemum stellatum

Maianthemum stellatum (star-flowered, starry, or little false Solomon's seal, or simply false Solomon's seal; star-flowered lily-of-the-valley[3] or starry false lily of the valley;[4] syn. Smilacina stellata) is a species of flowering plant, native across North America. It has been found in northern Mexico, every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut, and every US state except Hawaii and the states of the Southeast.[5] It has little white buds in the spring, followed by delicate starry flowers, then green-and-black striped berries, and finally deep red berries in the fall.[6]

Maianthemum stellatum
M. stellatum in the Wenatchee National Forest, Washington, U.S.A.

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Maianthemum
Species:
M. stellatum
Binomial name
Maianthemum stellatum
Synonyms[1][2]
Synonymy
  • Asteranthemum stellatum (L.) Nieuwl.
  • Asteranthemum vulgare Kunth
  • Asteranthemum vulgare var. uniflorum (Pursh) Kunth
  • Convallaria hybrida Marchal
  • Convallaria stellata L.
  • Smilacina liliacea (Greene) F.L. Wynd
  • Smilacina sessilifolia Nutt. ex Baker
  • Smilacina stellata (L.) Desf.
  • Smilacina stellata fo. paniculata H. St. John
  • Smilacina stellata var. crassa Vict.
  • Smilacina stellata var. sessilifolia L.F. Hend.
  • Smilacina stellata var. sylvatica Vict. & J. Rousseau
  • Smilacina stellata var. uniflora Pursh
  • Tovaria sessilifolia Baker
  • Tovaria stellata (L.) Neck. ex Baker
  • Unifolium liliaceum Greene
  • Unifolium sessilifolium (Baker) Greene
  • Unifolium stellatum (L.) Greene
  • Vagnera angustifolia Raf.
  • Vagnera leptopetala Rydb.
  • Vagnera liliacea (Greene) Rydb.
  • Vagnera sessilifolia (Baker) Greene
  • Vagnera stellata (L.) Morong
  • Vagnera stellata var. mollis Farw.
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Description

Maianthemum stellatum is a herbaceous perennial plant[7] It grows from extensively branching rhizomes, often forming dense patches. Plants are 2-6 dm tall with 8-11 leaves.[4]

Leaves

Leaves can be variable but are usually clasping and often blue-green and folded along the mid-rib.

Flowering clusters

Flowers are set in an un-branched cluster (raceme) at the tip of the flowering stem. Racemes are 1.5–5 cm long and 6–15-flowered. Flowers are set at one per node along the flowering stem, on stalks (pedicles) 6–12 mm long.[4]

Flowers and fruits

Tepals are white and 3–5 mm long.[7] Green berries have distinctive dark stripes, eventually ripening to black.[4]

Distribution

Native across North America generally from Alaska to California to North Carolina to Newfoundland, plus northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León).[8][9] It has been found in every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut, and from every US state except Hawaii and the states of the Southeast.[5]

Habitat and ecology

Found in open woods, prairies and shorelines.[7]

Similar species

Maianthemum stellatum is smaller than its close relative M. racemosum. For comparison, M. stellatum has smaller, more open inflorescences that are un-branched and have fewer flowers, flowers with stamens shorter rather than longer than the tepals, and usually somewhat narrower and more curved leaves. Both species show the characteristic zigzag of the stem between the alternate leaves.[10][11] True Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum and related species) have a similar overall appearance,[12] but the flowers hang from the stem underneath the leaves, rather than forming a terminal cluster.

  • Flowers
    Flowers
  • Green berries with dark stripes
    Green berries with dark stripes
  • Berries ripening
    Berries ripening
  • rhizome and roots
    rhizome and roots
  • flowers and leaves
    flowers and leaves

See also

References
  1. "Maianthemum stellatum". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
  2. "Maianthemum stellatum". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Maianthemum stellatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. "Maianthemum stellatum". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  6. LaFrankie, James V. (2002). "Maianthemum stellatum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-03-13 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  7. Moss, E. (1983). Flora of Alberta (2nd Edition Revised by J.G. Packer ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2508-0.
  8. Tropicos, specimen list for Maianthemum stellatum (L.) Link
  9. Tropicos, specimen list for Smilacina stellata (L.) Desf.
  10. Horn, Kathleen (1998). Sierra Nevada Wildflowers. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press. pp. 96=97. ISBN 0-87842-388-5.
  11. Laws, John Muir (2006). The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada (California Academy of Sciences). Berkeley, California: Heyday Books. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-59714-052-2.
  12. Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC 1073035766.
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