The long stems of angular Solomon's seal hang in an arch, with the flowers all dangling on one side. This plant grows well on slopes. The stems tend to lie in the direction of the sloop, giving it an enchanting appearance in late spring when the flowers blossom. If you get very close to the blossoms, you can smell their sweet scent.The only insects able to drink the nectar from the long narrow flowers are those with long tongues, such as bumblebees. Later in the season, the flowers turn into blue-black berries. Watch out! As tasty as they may look, both the plant and the berries are poisonous.

Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce:
Japan (Asia)
Mongolia (Asia)
Russian Federation (Asia)
South Korea (Asia)
China (Asia)

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.

Anhui, Gansu, Guangxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, ?Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Taiwan, ?Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia; Europe].

Rhizome terete, 5--14 mm thick. Stem arching, 20--50(--100) cm, glabrous, angled. Leaves 7--12, alternate; petiole short; leaf blade abaxially glaucous, elliptic to ovate-oblong, 5--12(--20) × 3--6(--8) cm, often smooth, sometimes papillose-scabrous on veins, apex acuminate and obtuse tipped. Inflorescences 1--4(--8)-flowered; peduncle usually 1--1.5 cm; bracts small or absent. Flowers pendulous; pedicel 5--10(--20) mm. Perianth yellowish green to white, cylindric to campanulate-cylindric, 1.3--2(--2.5) cm; lobes ca. 3 mm. Filaments filiform, smooth or verruculose; anthers ca. 4 mm. Ovary 3--4 mm. Style 1--1.4 cm, included. Berries blue-black, 7--10(--12) mm in diam., 7--9-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Jul--Sep. 2 n = (18*), 20*, (21, 22*, 23, 26, 28, 29, 30, 40*).

Convallaria odorata Miller, Gard. Dict., ed. 8, Convalla-ria no. 4. 1768; C. polygonatum Linnaeus; Polygonatum hondoense Nakai ex Koidzumi; P. japonicum C. Morren & Decaisne; P. langyaense D. C. Zhang & J. Z. Shao; P. maximowiczii F. Schmidt; P. odoratum f. ovalifolium Y. C. Chu et al.; P. officinale Allioni; P. officinale var. papillosum Franchet; P. planifilum Kitagawa & Hir. Takahashi; P. quelpaertense Ohwi; P. simizui Kitagawa; P. thunbergii C. Morren & Decaisne; P. vulgare Desfontaines.

Forests, shaded slopes; 500--3000 m.

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


No available public DNA sequences.

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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 6
Species With Barcodes: 1