''Polygonatum odoratum'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''P. officinale''), the angular Solomon's seal or scented Solomon's seal, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to Europe, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Mongolia, Korea and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> In the United Kingdom it is one of three native species of the genus, the others being '' P. multiflorum'' and '' P. verticillatum''. The genus name '' Polygonatum'' comes from the Greek words "poly", meaning "many", and "gonu", meaning "knee joint". This is in reference to the plant's jointed

rhizomes In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''odoratum'' means "scented".

Description

''Polygonatum odoratum'' is a colonizing

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial growing to tall by wide, with alternate, simple

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

on arching stems. The scented tubular flowers are white with green tips, borne in spring and hanging from the underside of the stems.

Cultivation

''Polygonatum odoratum'', like its relative lily of the valley, is cultivated in moist, shaded situations, where it will spread by underground

stolons In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

Cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

include ' Flore pleno' and 'Variegatum'.

Use

''Polygonatum odoratum'' is used in traditional Chinese medicine and Traditional Korean medicine, where it is called ''yùzhú'' ( 玉竹) and ''dunggulle'' (둥굴레) respectively. In Korea, the root of the plant is used to make tea. This plant species is described in the work ''Plantas Medicinales'' (medicinal plants) of

Pius Font i Quer Pius Font i Quer (Lleida 1888 – Barcelona 1964) was a Catalan botanist, pharmacist and chemist. He organized the Institut Botànic de Barcelona and founded Jardí Botànic in this city. In 1911 he joined the Health Military Corporation, ...

. According to it, its

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

contains asparagine, mucilage, a cardio-tonic glycoside,

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

, and quinine gluconate. It has been used for intestinal problems and pain, for rheumatism, gout, water retention, and as a diuretic. He says that the scientific medicine has used it to treat diabetes. He also describes a digestive liquor that uses the rhizome of this plant. The young shoots of the plants may be boiled and served like asparagus. The stems, leaves, and berries, however, must be treated with caution, as they are thought to be toxic if consumed in large quantities.

Varieties

Four varieties are recognized: *''Polygonatum odoratum'' var. ''maximowiczii'' (F.Schmidt) Koidz. – Japan, Russian Far East *''Polygonatum odoratum'' var. ''odoratum'' – widespread from Portugal and Great Britain to Japan and Kamchatka *''Polygonatum odoratum'' var. ''pluriflorum'' (Miq.) Ohwi – Japan, Korea *''Polygonatum odoratum'' var. ''thunbergii'' (C.Morren & Decne.) H.Hara – Japan, Korea

References

External links

Msu.edu: ''Polygonatum odoratum''
{{Clear odoratum Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Plants described in 1758 Garden plants of Asia Garden plants of Europe Medicinal plants of Asia Medicinal plants of Europe