''Maianthemum stellatum'' (star-flowered, starry, or little false Solomon's seal, or simply false Solomon's seal; star-flowered lily-of-the-valley or starry false lily of the valley; syn. ''Smilacina stellata'') 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 across North America. It has been found in northern Mexico, every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut, and from every US state except

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and the states of the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. 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.

Description

''Maianthemum stellatum'' is a herbaceous

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 ...

It grows from extensively branching rhizomes, often forming dense patches. Plants are 2-6 dm tall with 8-11 leaves.

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 (

pedicle 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 ...

s) 6–12 mm long.

Flowers and fruits

Tepals 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 ...

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

Distribution

Native across North America generally from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

to Newfoundland, plus northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

( Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León). It has been found in every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut, and from every US state except

and the states of the

Habitat and ecology

Found in open woods, prairies and shorelines.

Similar species

''Maianthemum stellatum'' is smaller than its close relative '' M. racemosum''. For comparison, ''M. stellatum'' has smaller, more open

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s that are un-branched and have fewer flowers, flowers with stamens shorter rather than longer than the

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, and usually somewhat narrower and more curved leaves. Both species show the characteristic zigzag of the stem between the alternate leaves. True Solomon's seal ''(

Polygonatum multiflorum ''Polygonatum multiflorum'', the Solomon's seal, David's harp, ladder-to-heaven or Eurasian Solomon's seal, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Europe and temperate Asia. In Britain it is one of three native spec ...

'' and related species) have a similar overall appearance, but the flowers hang from the stem underneath the leaves, rather than forming a terminal cluster.

Gallery

File:Maian_stellatum_raceme.jpg, Flowers File:Maian_stellatum_green_berries.jpg, Green berries with dark stripes File:Maian_stellatum_ripening.jpg, Berries ripening File:Maianthemum stellatum rhizomes.jpg, rhizome and roots File:Maianthemum stellatum.jpg, flowers and leaves

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6735249 stellatum Flora of North America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status