Polygonatum biflorum (Walter) Elliott

  • Authority

    Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

  • Family

    Asparagaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Polygonatum biflorum (Walter) Elliott

  • Description

    Species Description - Stem slender or stout, 4–12(–25) dm, arching or erect; cauline bract foliaceous, persistent; lvs sessile and often clasping, lance-elliptic to broadly oval, 5–15 × 1–8 cm, glabrous, paler and glaucous beneath, with 7–19 prominent veins; peduncles slender or flattened, arcuate, not strongly deflexed, 1–15-fld; pedicels usually shorter than the peduncle; fls 14–22 mm, mostly greenish-white or yellowish-green; filaments mostly glabrous or minutely roughened; 2n=20, 40. Moist woods, thickets, and roadsides; Mass. and s. N.H. to Minn., Man., and N.D., s. to Fla. and n. Mex. May– July. Tetraploids are usually larger and coarser than diploids, with more numerous fls on each peduncle and more numerous, stronger veins in the lvs, and have been called P. commutatum (P. canaliculatum, misapplied), but some diploids are as large as any tetraploid. A few plants from se. Mich. and adj. Ont. with honey- yellow fls and ± hairy filaments have been called var. melleum (Farw.) R. P. Ownbey.