E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia
Maianthemum racemosum (L.) Link large false Solomon's seal (false Solomon's-seal; feathery false lily of the valley) Asparagaceae (Previously in Liliaceae)
General: Perennial herb from a stout, fleshy, knotty, brownish rhizome; stems erect to stiffly arched-ascending, 30-100 cm tall, finely spreading-hairy above.
Leaves: Stem leaves 5 to 12, alternate often in two rows, oblong-elliptic to egg-shaped, tapering to a frequently clasping base, 5-20 cm long, 4-8 cm wide, unstalked or short-stalked, short stiff-hairy on undersurface, the margins entire; basal leaves lacking.
Flowers: Inflorescence a branched, egg- or pyramid-shaped, (3) 5- to 12-cm long, terminal cluster of numerous, spreading, short-stalked flowers; flowers white, wheel-shaped, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals 1.5-3 mm long, narrowly oblong; stamens 6, longer and wider than tepals; pistil 1, 3-chambered.
Fruits: Berries, globe-shaped, at first mottled green and red, eventually all red, 5-7 mm wide; seeds usually 1 or 2.
Moist to mesic forests, streambanks, meadows and clearings in the lowland and steppe to subalpine zones; common throughout BC south of 56degreeN, rare northward; N to AK, E to SK and S to SD, TX, NM, AZ and CA.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
