Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/8/20):
Polygonatum biflorum +
FAMILY
Ruscaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Polygonatum from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-10-002:
Polygonatum biflorum FAMILY Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygonatum commutatum
COMMON NAME:
Smooth Solomon's Seal
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm090412_010
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm090412_014
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120414_990
April Pickens County SC
Twin Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm120424_518
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Leaves smooth and glaucous beneath, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120424_521
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Flowers 12-21mm long, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm150423_511
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
COMPARE
Solomon's Plume, Solomon's Seal, Twisted Stalk, and two Bellworts
)
JK Marlow jkm200415_3838
April Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Flowers tubular with 6 short lobes, greenish when young, white when mature, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_biflorum_03190
April NC
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_088
May Polk County NC
Stems 0.2-2m long, 1.5-15mm in diameter, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_088b
May Polk County NC
Flowers usually in pairs from a common stalk, but up to 9 may be present, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Tim Spira tpspbiflorum
May
)
JK Marlow jkm0106a_00
June Transylvania County NC
Roadside
Var biflorum & commutatum are not always readily distinguished morphologically, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm0309m_15
September Greenville County SC
Berry blue-black, globose, 8-12mm in diameter, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Tim Spira tpspbiflorum2
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/8/20):
Polygonatum biflorum +
FAMILY
Ruscaceae
INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-10-002:
Polygonatum biflorum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygonatum commutatum
1114
Forb
Perennial
Look for it . Depending on variety, it can be found in moist to dry forests and/or on roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Whitish
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals, almost completely connate
6 stamens
Superior ovary
Flowers in drooping axillary clusters
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Blue-black
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p231
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p135
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p161
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p034
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p202
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p342
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p271
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) P166
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p027
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p366
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p366
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p421
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p428
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p007