Maianthemum dilatatum - Wild Lily Of The Valley

Family:	Convallariaceae
Habit:	Perennial
Height:	0.2
Width:	0.5
Synonyms:	M. kamtschaticum.
Range:	N. America.

Maianthemum dilatatum (Wild Lily Of The Valley) is a Perennial which grows to a height of 0.2m and a width of 0.5m . It has a hardness rating of 3and is vunerable to frost.
The flowers from this plant are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and they are pollinated by Insects

Soil Information

Wild Lily Of The Valley will grow in light (sandy),medium (loamy),hard (clay) soil. It is not necessary for the soil to be well drained.
The soil prefers the following PH / acid levels :
- pH of less than 6, Acidic soils
- pH between 6 and 8, Neutral soils
- pH greater than 8, Basic soils
Wild Lily Of The Valley prefers moist soils

Ideal Planting Locations

Wild Lily Of The Valley can grow in full or semi shaded areas.

Shaded or moist streambanks and open to dense woods if they are moist[60], in humus-rich slightly acid soils[200] to 1000m[60].

Planting places suited to this plant described below.

• Grows within a woodland garden
• Works within dappled Shade
• Grows in a shady edge
• Is suited to a deeply shaded location

Cultivation Details

Requires a cool shady moist but not wet position[1, 187]. Plants tolerate warm summers only if the soil remains moist[200]. A mat forming plant, it can be invasive in good conditions[200].

Edible Uses*

* See disclaimer
Edible Rating: 2/5
Fruit - raw or dried for later use[118, 177]. The fruits are about the size of small peas and are produced in terminal clusters on the plants, they are not regarded very highly[256]. North American Indian children would eat the raw unripe green berries straight from the plant[256]. Adults would usually harvest the green berries and then store them in water until they turned red and were soft[256]. Alternatively they would dry the green berries and then boil them for a few minutes[256]. Young leaves - cooked[177].

• Fruit -
• Leaves -

Medicinal Uses*

* See disclaimer
Medicinal Rating: 1/5
A poultice made of the whole or the mashed leaves has been applied to boils, burns, cuts and wounds[257]. The fruit has been used as a good medicine in the treatment of tuberculosis[257]. The root has been chewed in order to correct sterility[257]. (This probably means to restore fertility[K]) An infusion of the pounded roots has been used as a wash for sore eyes, whilst the chewed roots have been used as a poultice on the eyes[257].

• Infertility - Used in treating problems of human fertility.
• Ophthalmic - Treats eye complaints.
• Poultice - A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
• TB - Plants used in the treatment of tuberculosis

Propagation

Seed - best sown quite thinly it as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring. Stored seed should be sown in late winter in a cold frame, it might take 18 months to germinate. Allow the seedlings to grow on in the pot for their first year, giving liquid feeds as necessary to ensure that they do not go hungry. Divide the plants into individual pots once they have died down in late summer. Grow them on in pots for another year or more until large enough to plant out[K]. Division as new growth commences in the spring. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Known Hazards

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivars

no recorded cultivars

References

RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
F. Chittendon.
Author: F. Chittendon.
Rating:
Publisher : Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
Date of Publication : 1951

Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest.
Hitchcock. C. L.
Author: Hitchcock. C. L.
Rating:
Publisher : A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.
Date of Publication : 1955

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