Maianthemum racemosum |
Maianthemum |
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false Solomon's-seal, false spikenard, feathery false lily of the valley, feathery false Solomon's-seal, large false Solomon's-seal, plumed Solomon's seal, Solomon's-plume, treacleberry |
false lily-of-the-valley, false Solomon's seal, mayflower, Solomon's seal |
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Habit | Plants terrestrial, to 12.5 cm. | Herbs, perennial, terrestrial or aquatic, 1–12.5 dm, from rhizomes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rhizomes | sympodial, cylindrical, units 30–40 cm × 8–14 mm, sometimes multiplied, roots scattered. |
persistent, sympodial, spreading and filiform, or densely clumped, cylindrical, and fleshy. |
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Stems | erect or arching, 7.5–12.5 dm × 7–9 mm. |
simple, arching or erect. |
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Leaves | 7–12, sessile and clasping, or petiolate; blade elliptic to ovate, 9–17 × 5–8 cm; base rounded or tapered; apex acute or caudate. |
2–15, cauline, distichous, clasping or short-petiolate; blade usually ovate, glabrous or weakly pubescent, base rounded or cordiform, margins flat or undulate, denticulate or entire, apex acute or caudate. |
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Inflorescences | paniculate, 70–250-flowered, branches well developed, pyramidal. |
terminally paniculate or racemose, 5–250-flowered. |
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Flowers | 3-merous; tepals inconspicuous, 0.5–1 × 0.5 mm; filaments 1 × 0.5 mm; anthers 0.5–1 mm; ovary globose, 1 mm wide; style 0.1–0.3 mm; stigma obscure; pedicel 0.5–1 × 0.5 mm. |
3-merous (6 tepals, 6 stamens) or, by reduction, 2-merous (4 tepals, 4 stamens); perianth spreading; tepals distinct, white, ovate or triangular, equal, 0.5–5 mm; stamens inserted at tepal base; anthers 4-locular, dehiscence introrse; ovary superior, 2–3-carpellate, septal walls with nectariferous canals; style shorter than 1.5 mm; stigma 2–3-lobed, less than 1 mm wide; pedicel subtended by 1 or more bracts. |
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Fruits | baccate, variously mottled when immature, bright red at maturity, usually lobed, 4–12 mm wide, pulp thin. |
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Berries | green with copper spots when young, maturing to deep translucent red, globose or 3-lobed, 4–6 mm wide. |
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Seeds | 1–4, globose, 2.5–4 mm. |
1–12, globose, 3–6 mm diam.; testa pale brown, thin; endosperm scaly. |
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x | = 18. |
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2n | = 36, 72, 144. |
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Maianthemum racemosum |
Maianthemum |
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Distribution |
North America; n Mexico
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North America; Central America; n Europe; e Asia to the Himalayas |
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Discussion | Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). Maianthemum racemosum is sometimes cultivated. It was described as apomictic (A. L. Gorham 1953) but is much in need of cytogeographic and reproductive biological studies. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Species 30 (5 in the flora). Outside the flora area, Maianthemum may be epiphytic, with foliage stems pendent or erect; two species are dioecious; tepals may be fused, the perianth campanulate; and tepals and anthers may be pink, green, or violet. The two species of Maianthemum that bear 4-tepaled flowers, M. canadense and M. dilatatum, are very similar to one another and to the boreal Eurasian species M. bifolium (Linnaeus) F. W. Schmidt, and the three have sometimes been considered varieties of a single species. In most recent floristic works, the genus Maianthemum has been limited to these three species because of their reduced flowers, whereas the remaining species, which bear 6-tepaled flowers more typical of the Liliaceae, have been placed in the genus Smilacina. J. V. LaFrankie (1986) placed all the species in a single genus. The monophyly of Maianthemum sensu lato is supported by morphological consistencies including baccate fruits that are marked when immature, a consistent and unique karyotype (S. Kawano and H. H. Iltis 1966; S. Kawano et al. 1967; N. H. Valentine and H. M. Hassan 1971; M. N. Tamura 1995), and molecular analysis (P. J. Rudall et al. 2000; J. Yamashita and M. N. Tamura 2000). The 2-merous floral condition in Maianthemum sensu stricto is the result of anatomical reduction from the 3-merous state (F. H. Utech and S. Kawano 1976). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 208. | FNA vol. 26, p. 206. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Maianthemum | Liliaceae | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | Convallaria racemosa, Smilacina racemosa, Unifolium racemosum | Sigillaria, Smilacina | ||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Link: Enum. Hort. Berol. Alt. 1: 343. (1821) | F. H. Wiggers: Prim. Fl. Holsat., 14. (1780) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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