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• Maianthemum
• Maianthemum stellatum

Maianthemum stellatum — star-like false Solomon's-seal

Facts

Star-like false Solomon's-seal is widely distributed across North America, inhabiting sandy soils of woodlands, fields and dunes, as well as swamps and fens.Several Native American tribes used this species' roots medicinally, including to treat stomach problems, menstrual disorders, and venereal disease. The berries are edible when ripe.

Habitat

Dunes, fens, meadows and fields, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands), woodlands

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached at its midpoint to the filament

  Anther length

  0.6–0.8 mm

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Flower bracts

  there are bracts associated with the flower

  Flower number

  6–15

  Flower orientation

  the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward

  Flower petal color

  white

  Flower petal length

  4–5 mm

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Flowering stem width

  2–3.5 mm

  Form of style

  the style is lobed at the tip, and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Hairs on flower stalk

  the flower stalk has no hairs on it

  Inflorescence length

  20–50 mm

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)

  Length of flower stalk

  6–12 mm

  Length of peduncle

  At least 20 mm

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  3

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are six petals, sepals or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  4–5 mm

  Sepal orientation

  the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the plant

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Spathe length

  0 mm

  Stamen length

  1.8–2.3 mm

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are not fused to the petals or tepals

  Style length

  1.3–1.8 mm

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are similar in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  red

  Capsule ridges

  NA

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit cross-section

  the fruit is round in cross-section

  Fruit length

  4–6 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is fleshy

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)

  Fruit width

  4–6 mm

  Other markings on berry

  the ripe fruits are mostly one color without spots or streaks

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Root septa

  the roots do not have transverse septa

  Underground organs

  • the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)
  • there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf blade clasps the stem at the base, or the leaf blade goes all the way around the stem, so that the stem appears to pierce the leaf blade
  • the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is rounded

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  50–60 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade tip

  the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  25–35 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  0 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • dunes
  • edges of wetlands
  • fens
  • meadows or fields
  • swamps
  • woodlands

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is held upright

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  • the stem has hairs on it
  • the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FAC)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae