Lily of the valley

Berries

Convallaria majalis is an herbaceous perennial plant that often forms extensive colonies by spreading underground stems called rhizomes. New upright shoots are formed at the ends of stolons in summer,[8] these upright dormant stems are often called pips.[9] These grow in the spring into new leafy shoots that still remain connected to the other shoots under ground. The stems grow to 15–30 cm (6–12 in) tall, with one or two leaves 10–25 cm (4–10 in) long; flowering stems have two leaves and a raceme of five to fifteen flowers on the stem apex.

The flowers have six white tepals (rarely pink), fused at the base to form a bell-shape, 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) diameter, and sweetly scented; flowering is in late spring, in mild winters in the Northern Hemisphere it is in early March. The fruit is a small orange-red berry 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) diameter that contains a few large whitish to brownish colored seeds that dry to a clear translucent round bead 1–3 mm (0.04–0.12 in) wide. Plants are self-sterile, and colonies consisting of a single clone do not set seed.[10]

In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae[11]). It was formerly placed in its own family Convallariaceae, and, like many lilioid monocots, before that in the lily family Liliaceae.

There are three varieties that have sometimes been separated out as distinct species or subspecies by some botanists.[12]

• Convallaria majalis var. keiskei – from China and Japan, with red fruit and bowl-shaped flowers (now widely cited as Convallaria keiskei)[10][13]
• C. majalis var. majalis – from Eurasia, with white midribs on the flowers
• C. majalis var. montana – from the United States, with green-tinted midribs on the flowers

Convallaria transcaucasica is recognised as a distinct species by some authorities, while the species formerly called Convallaria japonica is now classified as Ophiopogon japonicus.[13]

Convallaria majalis is a native of Europe, where it largely avoids the Mediterranean and Atlantic margins.[14] An eastern variety, C. majalis var. keiskei occurs in Japan and parts of eastern Asia. A limited native population of C. majalis var. montana (synonym C. majuscula) occurs in the Eastern United States.[15] There is, however, some debate as to the native status of the American variety.[16]

Like many perennial flowering plants, C. majalis exhibits dual reproductive modes by producing offspring asexually by vegetative means and by seed, produced via the fusion of gametes.[17]

Convallaria majalis is a plant of partial shade, and mesophile type that prefers warm summers. It likes soils that are silty or sandy and acid to moderately alkaline,[18] with preferably a plentiful amount of humus. The Royal Horticultural Society states that slightly alkaline soils are the most favored.[19] It is a Euroasiatic and suboceanic species that lives in mountains up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) elevation.[20]

Convallaria majalis is used as a food plant by the larvae of some moth and butterfly (Lepidoptera) species including the grey chi. Adults and larvae of the leaf beetle Lilioceris merdigera are also able to tolerate the cardenolides and thus feed on the leaves.[21]

Variegated cultivar early in spring

Double-flowered ‘Flore pleno’

'Rosea'

Convallaria majalis is widely grown in gardens for its scented flowers and ground-covering abilities in shady locations. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3][22] In favourable conditions it can form large colonies.

Various kinds and cultivars are grown, including those with double flowers, rose-colored flowers, variegated foliage and ones that grow larger than the typical species.[13]

• C. majalis 'Albostriata' has white-striped leaves
• C. majalis 'Green Tapestry', 'Haldon Grange', 'Hardwick Hall', 'Hofheim', 'Marcel', 'Variegata' and 'Vic Pawlowski's Gold' are other variegated cultivars[13]
• C. majalis 'Berlin Giant' and C. majalis 'Géant de Fortin' (syn. 'Fortin's Giant') are larger-growing cultivars[13]
• C. majalis 'Flore Pleno' has double flowers.[13]
• C. majalis 'Rosea' sometimes found under the name C. majalis var. rosea, has pink flowers.[13]

Traditionally Convallaria majalis has been grown in pots and winter forced to provide flowers during the winter months, both for as potted plants and as cut flowers.[23]

Roughly 38 different cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) have been found in the plant, including:

It also contains the unusual, poisonous amino acid azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, though it is not clear this has caused any problems with human ingestion. The plant also contains saponins.

The odor of lily of the valley, specifically the ligand bourgeonal, was thought to attract mammalian sperm.[24] The 2003 discovery of this phenomenon prompted research into odor reception,[25] but a 2012 study demonstrated instead that at high concentrations, bourgeonal imitated the role of progesterone in stimulating sperm to swim (chemotaxis), a process unrelated to odor reception.[26]

The plant has been used in herbal medicine in moderate amounts by physicians and herbalists for centuries, particularly for mild congestive heart failure and arrhythmias.[27][28] This herb is not appropriate for use by lay people without expert guidance.

All parts of the plant are potentially poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children.[29] If ingested, the plant can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and irregular heart beats, though all of these are extremely rare.[4][5][6]

The lily of the valley was the national flower of Yugoslavia,[38] and it also became the national flower of Finland in 1967.[39]

In the "language of flowers", the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness.[33]

In terms of musical influence, “Lily of the Valley” is also a song by Queen on their album Sheer Heart Attack.

Lily of the Valley was featured in the TV show Breaking Bad, as it was used by Walter White as a naturally occurring poison.

It was also featured in the TV show Outlander, where a boy mistook it with wood garlic (Allium ursinum) and poisoned himself by eating the plant. However, the plant depicted looked nothing like lily-of-the-valley.

In the Animal Crossing franchise these flowers appear when the players town is deemed to be in perfect condition. In earlier games they were referred to as Jacob's Ladders due to a translation error.

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  Convallaria close-up
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  Moldovan stamp
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  1 May, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter
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  Lunner (Norway) municipal coat of arms

Vandepitte, Katrien; De Meyer, Tim; Jacquemyn, Hans (February 2013). "The impact of extensive clonal growth on fine-scale mating patterns: a full paternity analysis of a lily-of-the-valley population (Convallaria majalis)". Annals of Botany. 111 (4): 623–628. doi:10.1093/aob/mct024. PMC 3605957. PMID 23439847.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lily of the valley

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Convallaria majalis (category)

• Invasive Plant Atlas – US Distribution Map
• Convallaria majalis fact sheet – NC Cooperative Extension