Wild Lily Of The Valley, False lily of the valley
Maianthemum dilatatum

Family: Convallariaceae

What it is like

Maianthemum dilatatum is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from March to April. 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): 0.2

Where it is found

Shaded or moist streambanks and open to dense coniferous and broadleaves woods if they are moist, in humus-rich slightly acid soils to 1000 metres.

Western N. America - California to Alaska.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Fruit - raw or dried for later use. The fruits are about the size of small peas and are produced in terminal clusters on the plants, they are not regarded very highly. North American Indian children would eat the raw unripe green berries straight from the plant. Adults would usually harvest the green berries and then store them in water until they turned red and were soft. Alternatively they would dry the green berries and then boil them for a few minutes. Young leaves - cooked.

Medicine

Rating: 1

A poultice made of the whole or the mashed leaves has been applied to boils, burns, cuts and wounds. The fruit has been used as a good medicine in the treatment of tuberculosis. The root has been chewed in order to correct sterility. (This probably means to restore fertility) An infusion of the pounded roots has been used as a wash for sore eyes, whilst the chewed roots have been used as a poultice on the eyes.

Infertility: Used in treating problems of human fertility.

Ophthalmic: Treats eye complaints.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

TB: Plants used in the treatment of tuberculosis

Other

Rating:

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.

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;

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 3-7

Growth:

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

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

M. kamtschaticum.