
Feathery False Lily-of-the-Valley, Solomon’s Plume
Maianthemum racemosum
NATIVE
Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)
- Monocotyledon
- Monocots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
- Butcher’s Broom Family (Ruscaceae)
- Perennial herb
- Grows from rhizomes (horizontal underground stems); often forms colonies
- Stems unbranched, erect or arching, zig-zagging near the tip
- Leaves
- Alternate (1 leaf at each junction with stem)
- Ovate to oblong-elliptic, with smooth edges (entire), which are sometimes wavy
- Prominent parallel veins
- Clasping the stem (sessile)
- Flowers
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a tight panicle (branching stem with flowers opening from the bottom up), growing from the plant’s tip, of many small, creamy-white, fluffy-looking flowers
- Each radially-symmetrical flower has 3 petals and 3 sepals (outer flower parts), in 2 separate whorls, similar in appearance and collectively called tepals
- 6 prominent, thick stamens (male flower parts) are longer than the inconspicuous tepals
- Fragrant
- Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
- Fruit is a berry (a usually multi-seeded fruit with a fleshy ovary wall), initially yellow with red speckles, maturing to red with purple-speckles
- Height 12-35 in.

Distribution
- Native to California
- Grows in moist woodlands and along stream banks
- See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
- Outside California, found across North America, from Canada to the United States, south into Mexico and Central America
- Grows at elevations to 6,500 ft.
Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)
- Wildlife
- Flowers visited by bees, flies, and beetles
- Fruit eaten by numerous bird species, as well as small rodents
- Native people
- Ate the fruit
- Decoction of leaves used as a contraceptive
- CAUTION – berries are edible, but large quantities have a laxative effect
Name Derivation
- Maianthemum (my-AN-the-mum) – from the Greek for “May flower,” referring to its blooming season
- racemosum (ray-sem-OH-sum) – meaning “with flowers in racemes,” a seeming contradiction since the inflorescence is a panicle; however, a panicle can be described as a compound raceme
- Fat false Solomon’s seal
- False Solomon’s seal – derives from the similarity of the leaves to the “true” Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum species; see below)
- Fat – due to the many fluffy-looking flowers in the plume-like flower cluster and/or the leaves, which are wider than those of slim false Solomon’s seal (M. stellata)


Notes
- Geophytes (e.g. plants growing from bulbs, corms, rhizomes, or enlarged taproots) are well adapted to survive fire, our Mediterranean climate’s long, dry summers, and extended droughts
- Above-ground growth dies back after flowering, while underground the plant survives with stored water and nutrients
- Fat false Solomon’s seal has seen several changes in taxonomy
- Previously listed in Lily family
- Genus name changed from Smilacina to Maianthemum
- “True” Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum species) does not grow natively in the Western states
- Bell-like flowers hang in clusters from the leaf stalk
- Berries are poisonous
- Common name usually explained as referring to the large, circular seals (leaf stalk scars) on the rhizomes (Missouri)
- Host to the fungus-like microorganism Phytophthora ramorum, which causes Sudden Oak Death (SOD)
- For a complete list of known hosts and host associates see USDA Risk Analysis for Phytophthora ramorum, pp.6-9
ID Tips
- May be confused with slim false Solomon’s seal (M. stellata)
Slim False Solomon’s Seal | Fat False Solomon’s Seal | |
Leaves | narrow (slim) | wide (fat) |
Inflorescence | raceme¹ ⋯ 5-15 flowers, widely spaced | panicle² ⋯ > 20 flowers, densely packed |
Individual Flowers | ||
Appearance | starlike | fluffy |
Tepals | conspicuous | inconspicuous |
Stamens | shorter than tepals … less stout | longer than tepals … more stout |
Fragrance | no | yes |
Fruit | red-striped to red | red-speckled to red |
² Panicle – branching stem with flowers opening from the bottom up
At Edgewood
- Found in woodlands
- Found on the Sylvan trail, often side by side with slim false Solomon’s seal, in an area known as “Rose Alley,” just beyond the waterfall
- See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
- Flowers March – May
Specific References
Laws, J.M. 2019. Sierra Wildflowers: A Hiker’s Guide. Heyday Books, Berkeley, California.
Missouri Botanical Garden. Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum ‘Variegatum’.
North Carolina Native Plant Society (NCNPS). 2017. Maianthemum racemosum. Plant Details.