Maianthemum stellatum

This native perennial plant is 1-2½' tall and unbranched. The central stem is stout, smooth, and zigzags slightly. It usually reclines to the side somewhat, rather than being held stiffly erect with respect to the ground. The alternate leaves are narrowly ovate, with parallel veins and smooth margins. They are up to 6" long and 2" across, and are sessile to the central stem, or have short petioles. The undersides of the leaves may be slightly pubescent.  The central stem terminates in a single inflorescence consisting of small white flowers. This inflorescence is a narrow raceme (almost spike-like) about 1-4" long. Each flower has 6 narrow tepals, 6 stamens with yellow anthers, and a central pistil that is shaped like a vase with a long, narrow neck. When fully open, each star-like flower is about 1/3" across. The blooming period occurs during late spring and lasts about 3 weeks. There is a mild floral fragrance. Each flower is replaced by a small berry about ¼" across. The berries are initially green with purple or black stripes, but later become bright red. The root system consists of stout rhizomes, which form vegetative colonies readily.

Starry False Solomon's Seal has attractive foilage, flowers, and berries. It can be distinguished from Smilacina racemosa (False Solomon's Seal) by the narrower leaves and spike-like inflorescence. The latter plant has a plume-like inflorescence that consists of a spreading raceme. Another plant with similar foliage, Polygonatum biflorum (Smooth Solomon's Seal), has broader leaves that are pale green. However, the flowers of this species occur in pairs underneath the leaves along the stem. Another scientific name for Starry False Solomon's Seal is Maianthemum stellatum. Return

     AK  AZ  AR  CA  CO  CT  DE  ID  IL  IN
     IA  KS  KY  ME  MD  MA  MI  MN  MT  NE
     NV  NH  NJ  NM  NY  NC  ND  OH  OK  OR
     PA  RI  SC  SD  TN  TX  UT  VT  VA  WA
     WV  WI  WY  AB  BC  MB  ON  PQ  SK  YT
     MEXICO

Starry Solomon's-seal occurs widely over much of North America and
Canada.  It ranges from Alaska to California; northern British Columbia to
the southern Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona; east to
the New England states, and south through the Carolinas [1,9].

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    7  Lower Basin and Range
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   14  Great Plains
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

Smilacina stellata var. crassa Vict.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Smilacina stellata var. sessilifolia L.F. Hend.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Smilacina sessilifolia Nutt. ex Baker:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Smilacina liliacea (Greene) F.L. Wynd:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Smilacina stellata (L.) Desf.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Tenn., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.; disjunct in nw Mexico.

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

More info for the terms: forb, rhizome

Starry Solomon's-seal is a rhizomatous perennial forb approximately 8 to
24 inches (20-60 cm) tall.  The stem is erect and the leaves are
alternate.  It has 5 to 10 white flowers in a terminal raceme.  The
fruits are globose.  The roots of starry Solomon's-seal are dimorphic.
A large root that grows straight downward occurs at the junction between
some segments; numerous small roots emanate in all directions from the
rhizome [1].

Plant part values for starry Solomon' seal from central Oregon are as
follows [1]:   

                                   Mean  (+ or - SE)
                                 -------------------
Rhizome length (m)                  8.06    (3.2)
No. aerial shoots                  21.00      (8)
No. leaves                        201.00     (63)
No. roots                       1,300.00    (500)
Max. root length (m)                0.25    (.03)
Max root depth (m)                  0.23    (.02)
No. of roots per
 meter of rhizome                 168.00     (23)
Min. rhizome diameter (mm)          2.10    (0.1)
Max. rhizome diameter (mm)          3.90    (0.1)
Rhizome dry weight (g)             12.37    (4.6)
Root dry weight (g)                 2.66    (.86)
Leaf area (m 2)                     0.11    (.04)
Rhizome dry weight per    
 unit length (g/m)                  1.58    (.15)   
Max. leaf height (m)                0.18    (.01)

n=7                        

Plants terrestrial, 15–45 cm. Rhizomes sympodial, proliferatively spreading, narrow-cylindrical, units 15–60 cm × 3–4.5 mm, roots scattered over surfaces. Stems erect, 2.5–5 dm × 2–3.5 mm. Leaves 8–11, sessile, clasping; blade ovate-elliptic to lanceolate, 5–6 × 2.5–3.5 cm; base rounded; apex acute. Inflorescences racemose, simple, 6–15-flowered. Flowers 1 per node, 3-merous; tepals conspicuous, 4–5 × 1.5–2 mm; filaments 1.2–1.5 mm; anthers 0.6–0.8 mm; ovary globose to cylindrical, ca. 1 mm wide; style 1.3–1.8 mm; stigma obscurely 3-lobed; pedicel 6–12 × 0.8–1 mm. Berries green with black stripes along median carpel vein when young, maturing to red, globose, 4–6 mm diam. Seeds 1–6, globose, 2.5–3 mm. 2n = 36.

Convallaria stellata Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 316. 1753; Smilacina liliacea (Greene) Wynd; S. stellata (Linnaeus) Desfontaines; Unifolium liliaceum Greene; U. sessilifolium (Nuttall ex Baker) Greene; U. stellatum (Linnaeus) Greene; Vagnera liliacea (Greene) Rydberg; V. sessilifolia (Nuttall ex Baker) Greene; V. stellata (Linnaeus) Morong

Perennial herb with arching leafy stems from a forking rhizome. Leaves alternate , sessile, lanceolate with pointed tips. Inflorescence terminal, a raceme. Flowers white, tepals 6, spreading. Fruit a greenish black striped berry.

More info for the terms: forbs, shrub

Starry Solomon's-seal is an indicator species in a wide variety of
habitats.  It generally occurs on moist sites supporting overstories
consisting of cottonwoods and aspens (Populus spp.), oaks (Quercus
spp.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), lodgepole pine (Pinus
contorta), and spruce (Picea spp.).  Understory associates range from
grass species such as bluegrasses (Poa spp.) and wheatgrasses (Agropyron
spp.) to moist site forbs such as bedstraws (Galium spp.), western
meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale), and false Solomon's-seal (Maianthemum
racemosum).  Shrub associates generally include willows (Salix spp.),
serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), and Douglas hawthorn (Crataegus
douglasii) [20,25,29,31].

Published classifications listing starry Solomon's-seal as an indicator
or dominant species in habitat types (hts) or community types (cts) are
as follows:

Area               Classification          Authority
----               --------------          ---------
CO                 Forest (hts)            Wasser & Hess 1982
e ID, w WY         Riparian (cts)          Youngblood & others 1985
MT                 Forest (hts)            Pfister & others 1977
ND                 Forest (hts)            Severson & Thilenius 1976

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

More info for the term: cover

   Common in many SAF Cover Types

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

   Common in many Kuchler Plant Associations

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

   FRES10  White - red - jack pine
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES17  Elm - ash - cottonwood
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES19  Aspen - birch
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES22  Western white pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES24  Hemlock - Sitka spruce
   FRES25  Larch
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES27  Redwood
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES41  Wet grasslands

Starry Solomon's-seal is generally an indicator of moist environments;
however, it also occurs on rocky, well-drained sidehills and coastal
plains [4,9].  Tester [27] listed starry Solomon's-seal as a true
prairie species.  Starry Solomon's-seal is common in thickets and open
forests on gently sloping benches adjacent to streams.  It has also been
found as high as the lower subalpine zone on slopes ranging from 15 to
25 percent [13,31].  Elevational range of starry Solomon's-seal is
generally from 4,400 to 8,700 feet (1341-2650 m).

Soil:  Starry Solomon's-seal is usually found on shallow soils derived
from calcareous and noncalcareous parent materials.  Soil texture ranges
from gravelly loams to silt and sandy loams.  Soil acidity is often
neutral to acidic (average pH 5.9) [20,25,29,31].
 

Sand dunes, marginal woodlands, oak openings; 0--3200m.

The flowers attract Halictid bees (including Green Metallic bees), flower flies, and Tachinid flies primarily. These insects seek nectar or pollen. The berries are eaten by woodland songbirds, including various woodland thrushes and the Veery, as well as the White-Footed Mouse. These animals help to distribute the seeds. Deer often feed on the foilage, cropping the stems to about 6" above the ground. Photographic Location

Smilacina stellata (Starry False Solomon's Seal)
(bees collect pollen or suck nectar; flies and beetles suck nectar or feed on pollen; other insects suck nectar; some observations are from Graenicher and Krombein et al. as indicated below, otherwise they are from Robertson)

Bees (long-tongued)
Apidae (Apinae): Apis mellifera sn (Gr); Apidae (Bombini): Bombus ternarius sn (Gr), Bombus vagans sn (Gr); Anthophoridae (Ceratinini): Ceratina calcarata sn; Anthophoridae (Nomadini): Nomada cressonii sn (Rb, Gr), Nomada cuneatus sn (Gr); Megachilidae (Osmiini): Osmia coerulescens sn (Gr)

Bees (short-tongued)
Halictidae (Halictinae): Agapostemon sericea sn cp (Gr), Augochlora purus purus sn cp, Augochlorella aurata sn cp, Augochlorella striata sn cp (Rb, Gr), Augochloropsis metallica metallica sn cp (Rb, Gr), Halictus confusus sn cp (Gr), Halictus rubicunda sn cp (Rb, Gr), Lasioglossum imitatus sn cp (Rb, Gr), Lasioglossum laevissimus sn cp olg, Lasioglossum macoupinensis sn cp, Lasioglossum obscurus sn cp, Lasioglossum zephyrus sn cp (Gr); Halictidae (Sphecodini): Sphecodes smilacinae sn; Andrenidae (Andreninae): Andrena carlini sn, Andrena cressonii sn cp (Rb, Gr), Andrena nasonii sn (Gr), Andrena nigrihirta (Kr), Andrena nivalis sn (Gr), Andrena sigmundi sn (Gr)

Wasps
Vespidae (Eumeninae): Parancistrocerus pensylvanicus (Gr)

Flies
Bombyliidae: Bombylius major sn; Stratiomyidae: Odontomyia pubescens (Gr); Syrphidae: Eristalis arbustorum (Gr), Eristalis dimidiatus (Gr), Helophilus chrysostomus (Gr), Helophilus fasciatus (Gr), Mallota bautias (Gr), Neoascia globosa (Gr), Parhelophilus laetus (Gr), Sphaerophoria continqua (Gr), Syritta pipiens (Gr), Toxomerus geminatus (Gr), Toxomerus marginatus (Gr), Tropidia quadrata (Gr), Xylota ejuncida (Gr); Tachinidae: Archytas analis (Gr), Gonia capitata (Gr), Gymnoclytia immaculata (Gr), Melanophrys insolita (Gr), Siphona geniculata (Gr), Tachinomyia panaetius (Gr); Muscidae: Hydrotaea sp. (Gr); Sarcophagidae: Sarcophaga sp. (Gr)

Butterflies
Pieridae: Pieris rapae sn (Gr)

Skippers
Hesperiidae: Poanes zabulon sn (Gr)

Beetles
Scarabaeidae (Cetonniae): Trichiotinus piger sn fp (Gr)

More info for the terms: fire use, prescribed fire

Lyon's Research Paper provides further information on prescribed
fire use and postfire response of plant species including starry
Solomon's-seal.

More info for the terms: duff, frequency

Starry Solomon's-seal is moderately resistant to fire-kill.  It may,
however, be killed by fire that removes the duff layer and heats the
upper mineral layer [5].  In northern Idaho, starry Solomon's-seal cover
percentage was reduced the first growing season after a
moderate-severity fire.  It regained or surpassed all prefire
frequencies by the fourth growing season [14].  Following prescribed
burning in northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis) in central
Minnesota, the average frequency value on burned sites (15.5) was higher
than on unburned sites (11.0) [30].

More info for the term: rhizome

   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

Starry Solomon's-seal is considered a survivor species following fire.
Its fire adaptation strategy is via sprouting from surviving rhizomes
located in mineral soil [5].

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: cover

Facultative Seral Species

Starry Solomon's-seal is generally a seral herb species.  On dune sites
near Lake Michigan, it has remained dominant for more than a 1,000
years.  It is eventually replaced by false Solomon's-seal on the oldest
dunes [18].  Starry Solomon's-seal showed a variety of successional
responses to silvicultural treatments of western redcedar/western
hemlock (Thuja plicata/Tsuga heterophylla) stands in northern Idaho.  It
showed the highest coverage values within stands treated by shelterwood
methods compared to those receiving partial thinning, clearcut, or
selection harvest methods.  All stands had been treated by regenerative
or stand improvement methods between 5 and 25 years prior to sampling
[11].  Starry Solomon's-seal showed a higher percent cover in climax
stands of Douglas-fir/ninebark (Physocarpus malvaceus) habitat types in
northern Idaho, than on burned, logged, or grazed sites of the same type
[4].

More info for the terms: natural, rhizome

Starry Solomon's-seal regenerates primarily through rhizomes.  Its
rhizomes grow rapidly and develop into long, complex systems.  Rhizome
plasticity after burial is moderate.  Following burial by volcanic
tephra from Mount St. Helens, Starry Solomon's-seal was observed to
sprout from rhizomes upward through the ash [2].  The roots of starry
Solomon's-seal steadily die-off so that the oldest rhizome segments have
few roots remaining [1].

Contents of starry Solomon's-seal rhizome per meter length from the
Cascade Mountain Range, Oregon and Washington, are as follows [33]:

           Oven-dry   
            weight    water   energy   carbohydrates   N    P    K    shoots
             (g)       (g)     (kj)        (mg)       (mg) (mg) (mg)   (no.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maianthemum  1.96      5.6     35.2         376        12   6    30     2.1
stellatum

The rhizomes can produce aerial stems.  These are determinate, annual
shoots which normally bear seven to nine leaves and occasionally produce
flowers at the tip.  Aerial shoots are produced on both long and short
rhizome segments in most years [1].  In northern Idaho, aboveground
production was greater on grazed plots [1.44 pounds/acre (3.20 kg/ha)]
than on ungrazed plots [0.58 lbs/acre (1.30 kg/ha)] [32].

Seed:  No information concerning seed viability was found.  The probable
mode of dissemination is through fruit consumption by wildlife.
Pollination patterns indicate that larger starry Solomon's-seal
inflorescences attract more insect visits than do small inflorescences.
This differential favoritism is considered to be a determining factor of
plant distribution when such uneven visitation activity persists from
year to year [23].

Morphological characteristics of starry Solomon's-seal fruit from the
Rainbow Creek Research Natural Area, southeastern Washington, are as
follows [21]:

                                   Mean              Standard Error
                                   ----              --------------
Fruit Diameter (mm)                8.37                  0.12
Fruit Mass (mg)                  305.88                 13.63
Pulp Dry Mass (mg)                34.31                  1.43
No. of Seeds per Fruit             2.21                  0.11
Fresh Seed Mass per Fruit (mg)    40.51                  1.99
Fresh Pulp Mass (mg)               7.01                  0.22

n=100

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: phanerophyte

  
   Phanerophyte

More info for the term: forb

Forb

Fire will consume all aboveground parts of starry Solomon's-seal.

More info on this topic.

Shoots of starry Solomon's-seal generally appear in late April, and
flowering occurs from late May through early June [23].

Flowering mid or late spring.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 5
Specimens with Barcodes: 21
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

More info for the term: forb

Management of starry Solomon's-seal is indirect.  This forb generally
occurs individually or in small clusters distributed over a short
distance.  Overstory management techniques that can damage the ground
surface should be limited to seasons of least potential impact; e.g.
winter timber harvesting.  Harvesting should be restricted to
rubber-tire vehicles and aerial skidding techniques.  Overgrazing of
this species by livestock or wildlife does not seem to be a problem due
to its rhizomatous nature [1,4].

This plant prefers moist to slightly dry conditions and partial sunlight. It will also tolerate light shade and full sunlight. It is not particular about soil texture, but often grows in sandy soil in native habitats. Insects and disease are rarely bothersome. Range & Habitat