''Maianthemum racemosum'', the treacleberry, feathery false lily of the valley, false Solomon's seal, Solomon's plume or false spikenard, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It is a common, widespread plant with numerous common names and synonyms, known from every US state except Hawaii, and from every Canadian province and territory (except Nunavut and the Yukon), as well as from Mexico.

Description

It is a woodland

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 plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

growing to tall, with 7–12 alternate, oblong-

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

leaves long and broad. The leaf bases are rounded to clasping or tapered, sometimes with a short petiole. The leaf tips are pointed to long-tipped. Seven to 250 small flowers are produced on a

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

that has well-developed branches. Each flower has six white

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s long and is set on a short

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

usually less than 1 mm long. Blooming is mid-spring with fruiting by early summer. The plants produce fruits that are rounded to 3-lobed and green with copper spots when young, turning red in late summer. It spreads by cylindrical

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 ...

s up to long with scattered roots. ''M. racemosum'' closely resembles members of the genus ''

Veratrum ''Veratrum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in damp habitats across much of temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia, and North America. ''Veratrum'' species are vigorous herbaceous perennials with highly poiso ...

'', a highly toxic group of plants to which it is distantly related, as well as baneberry.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

The Flora of North America recognizes two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: ''amplexicaule'' (Nuttall) LaFrankie and ''racemosum''. They are geographically separated, with subsp. ''amplexicaule'' a western subspecies and subsp. ''racemosum'' found in the east, with some overlap in the central states. The western plants (subsp. ''amplexicaule'') have erect stems and leaves with a clasping, rounded base and upper leaves with tips with short points. The eastern subspecies (subsp. ''racemosum'') tends to have arching stems, leaves with a short petiole and upper leaf-tips with an extended point long. Phylogenetic analyses however show there to be molecular differences and those differences, combined with the geographical separation and morphological differences suggest that these should be considered separate species: ''M. amplexicaule'' (Nutt.) W.A. Weber for the western species and ''M. racemosum'' (Linnaeus) Link for the eastern.

Etymology

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 ...

''racemosum'' means "with flowers that appear in

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s", which can cause confusion as the inflorescence is a panicle; it is the individual branches of the panicle that have flowers arranged in a raceme.

Distribution and habitat

The species is widespread, found in all Canadian provinces and territories except the Yukon and Nunavut, all US states except Hawaii, and in Northern Mexico. Subsp. ''amplexicaule'' has been found in western Canada in Alta, B.C., N.W.T., Sask.; and in the western US in Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., N.Mex., N.Dak., Oreg., S.Dak., Tex., Utah, Wash., Wyo. Also found in Mexico, in Chihuahua, Coahuila and Veracruz. The eastern subspecies (subsp. ''racemosum'') is found in Canada from Manitoba east, and in all eastern US states. Both subspecies are found in the Dakotas and in Texas. The plant grows in habitats in North America up to elevations of . The most robust and profuse occurrences of this plant are typically found in partial shade and deep, moist, soft soils. In the western part of North America an example typical habitat would be in a shaded ravine or riparian corridor with common understory associates of ''

Dryopteris arguta ''Dryopteris arguta'', with the common name coastal woodfern, is a species of wood fern. It is native to the west coast and western interior mountain ranges of North America, from British Columbia, throughout California, and into Arizona. It gr ...

'', ''

Trillium ovatum ''Trillium ovatum'', the Pacific trillium, also known as the western wakerobin, western white trillium, or western trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found in western North America, from southern British ...

'' and ''

Adiantum jordanii ''Adiantum jordanii'' is a perennial species of maidenhair fern, in the Vittarioideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. The species is known by the common name California maidenhair. It is native to California and Baja California. ''A. jordanii'' is ...

''.

Cultivation

The plant, like the closely related ''

Polygonatum ''Polygonatum'' , also known as King Solomon's-seal or Solomon's seal, is a genus of flowering plants. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It ha ...

'' (Solomon's seal), is suitable for cultivation in moist, humus-rich soil in a woodland setting or in dappled shade. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Uses

Because it resembles plants of the highly toxic ''Veratrum'' genus, this species should not be consumed unless identification is positive. The plant becomes fibrous and bitter after it completes flowering and seed-setting, but the tender young shoots can be stripped of their leaves, simmered in water and eaten. Their delicate flavor is somewhat reminiscent of asparagus. The ripe fruits are edible raw or cookedFacciola, Stephen (1990). ''Cornucopia: A Source Book of Edible Plants''. Kampong Publications. but may be poor in taste. They can be laxative if consumed in large quantities.

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

harvested the roots of this plant and cooked them in lye water overnight to remove the bitterness and neutralize their strong laxative qualities. Native Americans boiled the roots to make tea for medicinal purposes, including to treat rheumatism, kidney issues, and wounds and back injuries.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q3486643, from2=Q41778434 racemosum Flora of North America Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus