Starry False Lily of the Valley
Maianthemum stellatum
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 (underground, horizontal stems); often forms colonies
- Stems unbranched, erect or arching, zig-zagging near the tip
- Leaves
- Alternate (1 leaf at each junction with stem)
- Lance-shaped to elliptic, with smooth edges (entire)
- Prominent parallel veins
- Clasping the stem (sessile)
- Flowers
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a raceme (unbranched stem with stalked flowers opening from the bottom up), growing from the plant’s tip, of 5-15 white, widely-spaced, star-shaped 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 stamens (male flower parts) are slightly shorter than the tepals
- Ovary superior (attached above other flower parts)
- Fruit is a berry (a usually multi-seeded fruit with a fleshy ovary wall), red-striped while maturing, red-purple to black at maturity
- Height to 28 in.
Distribution
- Native to California
- Grows in moist woodlands and along stream banks
- See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
- Outside California, grows across much of North America, from Alaska to California in the west and from Newfoundland to the central Appalachian Mountains in the east
- Grows at elevations to 7,800 ft.
Uses (Picking or removing any natural material from public land is illegal)
- Flowers pollinated by bees, flies, and beetles
- Fruit eaten by numerous bird species, as well as small rodents
- Native people ate the fruit
- 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
- stellatum (stel-LAY-tum) – from the Latin stella, “star,” referring to the flower shape
- Slim 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)
- Slim – due to the simplicity of the flowers in the inflorescence and/or to the leaves, which are narrower than those of fat false Solomon’s seal (M. racemosum)
Notes
- Geophytes, e.g. plants growing from bulbs, corms, and rhizomes, are 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
- Slim 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)
ID Tips
- May be confused with fat false Solomon’s seal (M. racemosum)
| 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 fat false Solomon’s seal, in an area known as “Rose Alley” just beyond the waterfall
- See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
- Flowers February – March
Specific References
Habeck, R.J. 2020. Maianthemum stellatum. Fire Effects Information System. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
Laws, J.M. 2019. Sierra Wildflowers: A Hiker’s Guide. Heyday Press, Berkeley, California.
Missouri Botanical Garden. Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum ‘Variegatum’.