Maianthemum canadense

Maianthemum canadense (Canadian may-lily, Canada mayflower, false lily-of-the-valley, Canadian lily-of-the-valley, wild lily-of-the-valley,[2] two-leaved solomonseal) is a dominant understory perennial flowering plant, native to the sub-boreal conifer forests in Canada and the northern United States, from Yukon and British Columbia east to Newfoundland and south to Nebraska and Pennsylvania, and also in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia. It can be found growing under both evergreen and deciduous trees.

Maianthemum canadense
Maianthemum canadense
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Maianthemum
Species:
M. canadense
Binomial name
Maianthemum canadense
Synonyms[1]
  • Maianthemum canadense var. interius Fern.
  • Maianthemum canadense var. pubescens Gates & Ehlers
  • Unifolium canadense (Desf.) Greene

It grows to 10–25 cm (4–10 in) tall,[3] and has 1–3 leaves, with clusters of 12–25 starry shaped, white flowers held above the leaves. The flowers are produced from late spring to mid summer, and have four tepals and four stamens, as in the very closely related Maianthemum bifolium and Maianthemum dilatatum. The fruit is a berry containing 1–2 round seeds that becomes red and translucent when ripe.[2] The berries are mottled red in early summer and turn deep red in mid summer. Seed is produced infrequently and most plants in a location are vegetative clones, the plants spreading by their rhizomes, which are shallow, trailing, and white.

Leaves are alternate, stalkless, oval, and slightly notched at base.[2] They are not oppressed to the stem. The plant appears in two forms, either two or three leaves growing with a fruiting stem, or a single leaf rising from the ground with no fruiting structures.

References
  1. "Maianthemum canadense". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. Dickinson, T.A.; Bull, J.; Metsger, D. & Dickinson, R. (2004), The ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario, Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, ISBN 978-0-7710-7652-7, p.105
  3. LaFrankie, James V. (2002). "Maianthemum canadense". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 26. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Bibliography

Media related to Maianthemum canadense at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.