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• Polygonatum
• Polygonatum latifolium

Polygonatum latifolium — broad-leaved Solomon's-seal

Facts

Broad-leaved Solomon's-seal is a European species, occasionally found in New England and a garden escapee, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  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 petal color

  • green to brown
  • white

  Flower petal length

  13–21 mm

  Flower symmetry

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

  Form of style

  • the style is knob-like at the tip, and unbranched
  • 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 type

  • the flowers grow out of the axil (point where a branch or leaf is attached to the main stem)
  • the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of pistils

  1

  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 fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  13–21 mm

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are fused to each other (often along with the petals in monocots), at least near their bases

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are fused to the petals or tepals at or near their bases

  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

  blue

  Capsule ridges

  NA

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit length

  6–9 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)

  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

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  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 has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  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

  70–125 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 veins

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

  Leaf type

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

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • edges of forests
  • man-made or disturbed habitats

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem leaves

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

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae