The Sweet yet Poisonous Flower

Lily of the Valley

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a highly poisonous woodland, flowering plant with sweetly scented (fragrant perennial herb), pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is possibly only species of the genus Convallaria in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae) and the Nolinoideae subfamily. It is native throughout the cool temperate Northen Hemisphere in Asia, Europe (Eurasia), America, China and Japan. It likes a sheltered, moist habitat in either full or partial shade. Lily of the valley is cultivated in shaded garden areas in many temperate parts of the world. The plants often grow closely together, forming a dense mat, and are sometimes used as ground cover.

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Nolinoideae
Genus:	Convallaria
Species:	C. majalis
Binomial name
Convallaria majalis L.

Other names include May bells, Our Lady's tears, and Mary's tears. Its French name, muguet, sometimes appears in the names of perfumes imitating the flower's scent. In pre-modern England, the plant was known as glovewort (as it was a wort used to create a salve for sore hands), or Apollinaris (according to a legend that it was discovered by Apollo). America, China and Japan. It likes a sheltered, moist habitat in either full or partial shade.

The Lily of the Valley flower supposedly symbolises the return of happiness, sweetness and a feeling of contentment.

           The Lily of the Valley has been the national flower of Finland since the late 1960s and used to be the floral emblem of the old Yugoslavia, which was dissolved in 1992

For specific, Convallaria majalis is an herbaceous perennial plant that forms extensive colonies by spreading underground stems called rhizomes. New upright shoots are formed at the ends of stolon in summer, these upright dormant stems are often called pips.These grow in the spring into new leafy shoots that still remain connected to the other shoots underground, often forming extensive colonies. 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.

For a glance, it has nodding white bell-shaped flowers that are borne in a cluster on one side of a leafless stalk. The Dark green glossy leaves, usually two, are located at the base of the plant that form a dense mat close to the soil, from which arching stems support small bell-shaped flowers, which are most commonly white or occasionally pink. The fruit is a red berry. The plant spreads vegetatively by means of both rhizomes and stolons that creep horizontally below the ground or along the top of the soil. All parts of the plant contain cardiac glycosides and are poisonous to humans, pets, and other animals if ingested. With a heady, strong fragrance, the Lily of the Valley is popular not only for its scent but also for its ground-covering, spreading properties in shady conditions. It also produces small berries, which tend to be red or orange.

Convallaria majalis is sold in the spring as cut flowers and as a small potted plant. It can be planted from January to December and usually flowers between June and September. The seeds can be sown in containers or trays in a cold frame or greenhouse. Lily of the Valley can also be propagated by dividing mature plants in the autumn.

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

Convallaria keiskei

Red fruit

Convallaria majalis var. keiskei (Convallaria keiskei) – from China and Japan, with red fruit and bowl-shaped flowers.

   

C. majalis var. majalis

C. majalis var. majalis – from Eurasia, with white midribs on the flowers

C. majalis var. montana

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.

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, with preferably a plentiful amount of humus. The Royal Horticultural Society states that slightly alkaline soils are the most favored. It is a Euroasiatic and Suboceanic species that lives in mountains up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) elevation.

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 merdi are also able to tolerate the cardenolides and thus feed on the leaves.

Variegated Cultivar in Early Spring

       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 and Award of Garden Merit at 2017. In favorable 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.

·        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

·        C. majalis 'Berlin Giant' and C. majalis 'Géant de Fortin' (syn. 'Fortin's Giant') are larger-growing cultivars

·        C. majalis 'Flore Pleno' has double flowers.

·        C. majalis 'Rosea' sometimes found under the name C. majalis var. rosea, has pink flowers.

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.

You can protect the plants from full sun as they prefer growing in the shade in a humus-rich soil that’s kept moist. Mature plants can reach a height of 23cm and spread 30cm, making them excellent for ground cover. They’re easily divided in the autumn months of September to November by digging up the clumps of plants and gently dividing the roots into smaller clumps.

Replant the divided sections in their new location at their original depth and with their shoots above ground. It will happily tolerate acid, neutral or alkaline soil and is ideal for use as ground cover in informal planting arrangements. It will willingly grow beneath other plants, such as roses or shrubs, adding interest to otherwise barren areas of the garden.

Question!

1. What is Lily of the Valley means?
2. When It can be planted?
3. What are the function of Lily of the Valley?
4. How tall that the stems can grow?
5. With how the plant can do the vegetative reproduction? 

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