Canada Beadruby, Canada mayflower
Maianthemum canadense

Family: Convallariaceae

What it is like

Maianthemum canadense is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to June. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 0.1

Where it is found

Woods and recent clearings, often to the sub-alpine zone, in humus-rich slightly acid soils.

Eastern N. America - Labrador to Georgia, west to Tennessee and Iowa.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 1

Fruit. We have no more details except a warning that the fruit should be used with caution. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 1

A tea made from the plant has been used in the treatment of headaches and as a kidney tonic for pregnant women. It is also used as a gargle for sore throats and as an expectorant.

Expectorant: Clears phlegm from the chest by inducing coughing.

Kidney: Used in the treatment of kidney diseases

Other

Rating: 2

Plants can be used as ground cover in shady positions, doing well in a wild or woodland garden.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Ground cover: Ground Cover

Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent

How it is grown

Requires a cool shady moist but not wet position. Plants tolerate warm summers only if the soil remains moist. A mat forming plant, it can be invasive in good conditions. The flowers are sweetly scented. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a runner spreading indefinitely by rhizomes or stolons. The root pattern is rhizomatous with underground stems sending roots and shoots along their length.

Propagating it: Seed - best sown quite thinly it as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring. Stored seed should be sown in late winter in a cold frame, it might take 18 months to germinate. Allow the seedlings to grow on in the pot for their first year, giving liquid feeds as necessary to ensure that they do not go hungry. Divide the plants into individual pots once they have died down in late summer. Grow them on in pots for another year or more until large enough to plant out. Division as new growth commences in the spring. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; not Deep Shade; Ground Cover;

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 3-7

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

There is a warning that the fruit should only be used with caution, but no more details are given.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

M. bifolium.