[False Solomon Seals and False Lily of the Valleys: The Genus Maianthemum in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]

Beadruby, False Lily-of-the-valley, Wild Lily-of-the-valley, Two-leaf False Solomon's-seal

Maianthemum dilatatum

Synonyms: Maianthemum bifolium, Maianthemum bifolium var. dilatatum, Maianthemum bifolium var. kamtschaticum, Maianthemum kamtschaticum, Unifolium dilatatum, Unifolium kamtschaticum

Beadruby, False Lily-of-the-valley, Wild Lily-of-the-valley, Two-leaf False Solomon's-seal: Maianthemum dilatatum (Synonyms: Maianthemum bifolium, Maianthemum bifolium var. dilatatum, Maianthemum bifolium var. kamtschaticum, Maianthemum kamtschaticum, Unifolium dilatatum, Unifolium kamtschaticum) - Ripe fruits of Beadruby, False Lily-of-the-valley, Wild Lily-of-the-valley, Two-leaf False Solomon's-seal: Maianthemum dilatatum (Synonyms: Maianthemum bifolium, Maianthemum bifolium var. dilatatum, Maianthemum bifolium var. kamtschaticum, Maianthemum kamtschaticum, Unifolium dilatatum, Unifolium kamtschaticum)

False lily-of-the-valley as seen at left along the Angels Rest Trail in the Columbia River Gorge........May 18, 2009. The photo at right shows the ripe fruits of false lily-of-the-valley as seen along the Bridge Trail near the junction with the Upper Hardy Creek Trail, Beacon Rock State Park........October 21, 2021.
Characteristics:

False lily-of-the-valley is an attractive perennial wildflower with erect stems from 10-35 cm high rising from spreading underground rhizomes. The one to three leaves are found entirely on the stems. The blades are heart-shaped with parallel venation and wavy leaf margins. The blades measure 5-11 cm long and may be nearly as wide. The slender petioles measure from 2-9 cm long and are ascending.

The inflorescence consists of a short raceme measuring 3-6 cm long. The racemes are mostly simple but may on occasion be compound, especially lower in the inflorescence. The flowers are white with the outer tepals narrowly elliptic in shape, the inner tepals broadly elliptic in shape. The individual tepals are about 2.5 mm long. The whitish stamens are about twice as long as the tepals. The fruit is a a reddish, globose berry measuring from 5-6 mm long.

False lily-of-the-valley is an attractive wildflower for the shade garden. It easily spreads via underground rhizomes to create drifts of heart-shaped leaves and clusters of white flowers.

Habitat:

False lily-of-the-valley may be found in humus soils in moist shaded woods and along streambanks from near sea level up to 3500 feet in elevation.

Range:

False lily-of-the-valley may be found from Alaska south along the coast to the Pacific Northwest where it is found west of the Cascade crest. It is found south as far as Marin County in California. It is found eastward to central British Columbia and to northern Idaho.

In the Columbia River Gorge it may be found between the elevations of 100'-4000' from the Sandy River east to Cascade Locks, OR.

Inflorescence of Beadruby, False Lily-of-the-valley, Wild Lily-of-the-valley, Two-leaf False Solomon's-seal: Maianthemum dilatatum (Synonyms: Maianthemum bifolium, Maianthemum bifolium var. dilatatum, Maianthemum bifolium var. kamtschaticum, Maianthemum kamtschaticum, Unifolium dilatatum, Unifolium kamtschaticum) - Beadruby, False Lily-of-the-valley, Wild Lily-of-the-valley, Two-leaf False Solomon's-seal: Maianthemum dilatatum (Synonyms: Maianthemum bifolium, Maianthemum bifolium var. dilatatum, Maianthemum bifolium var. kamtschaticum, Maianthemum kamtschaticum, Unifolium dilatatum, Unifolium kamtschaticum)

Close-up images of the raceme and form of false lily-of-the-valley as seen along the Angels Rest Trail........May 18, 2009.
Paul Slichter