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Polygonatum biflorum

Common name:	Small Solomon's Seal	Family:	Convallariaceae
Author:	(Walter.)Elliott.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:	Convallaria biflora (Walter.)
Known Hazards:	The fruit and seed are possibly poisonous[65].
Range:	N. America - New Brunswick to Michigan, south to Tennessee and Florida
Habitat:	Dry to moist sandy, loamy or rocky deciduous woods and thickets, usually in upland areas[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. biflorum var. biflorum[P] P. biflorum var. commutatum[B,P] P. canaliculatum[B] P. canaliculatum auct. non[P] P. commutatum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Solomon's Seal [H], King Solomon's Seal [P], King Solomon's-seal [B], Small Solomon's Seal [H,L], Solomon's Seal [S],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	biflorum = 2 flowered; florum = flowered;
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us; Us(Appalachia)
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower in May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root.

Young shoots - raw or cooked[159, 177]. An excellent vegetable when boiled and used as an asparagus substitute[183].
Root - cooked[61]. The flavour is somewhat bitter, to counteract this the root is sliced crosswise, cooked in alkaline water and the water changed during the cooking process[183]. When steamed and sun-dried nine times the root is delicious[179]. The roots are rich in starch, this can be extracted by beating or grinding the dried root, the starch can then be used to make bread or can be mixed in other foods such as soups[159, 183, 257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Laxative; Poultice; Sedative.

A tea made from the roots is laxative[222]. It has been used in the treatment of indigestion, profuse menstruation, lung ailments, general debility etc[222]. It is a folk remedy for piles, rheumatism and skin irritations[222].
A poultice or a decoction of the fresh roots is applied to cuts, bruises, sores etc[222, 257].

Other Uses

Incense.

The root has been burnt as an incense[257]. It is said that when the root is burnt in the bedroom just before going to sleep, the person would sleep soundly and awaken refreshed, rested and feeling young[257].

Cultivation details

Prefers a fertile humus rich moisture-retentive well-drained soil in cool shade or semi-shade[200]. Plants are intolerant of heat and drought but they tolerate most other conditions[200].
A very ornamental plant, it grows well in woodland and copses[1, 42].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233].
The young shoots are very attractive to slugs[K].
Hybridizes with other members of this genus[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in early autumn in a shady part of a cold greenhouse[200]. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible. Germination can be slow, they may not come true to type[200] and it takes a few years for them to reach a good size. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a shady position in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in March or October. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Polygonatum biflorum var. biflorum (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[42] Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.