Starry False Solomon’s Seal

Maianthemum stellatum, otherwise known as starry false lily-of-the-valley, is another native plant blooming May into June alongside false Solomon’s seal. The leaves of the starry version are very similar to false Solomon’s, being smooth-edged, deeply veined and climbing up the stem alternately. The difference here is that “starry’s” leaves clasp around the stem as opposed to false Solomon’s seal’s leaves which do not. Starry false Solomon’s seal also tends to be a shorter plant than its neighbor for comparison purposes, 12″ tall or less as opposed to false Solomon’s 1 to 3 feet height. Read on for more ID comparisons between the two plants.

Just like false Solomon’s seal, the flower clusters of stellatum bloom from the tips of stems, each flower with 6 tepals, and forming into a berry. Stellatum prefers moist soil with part shade to sun of swamps, edges of woods and shorelines, but can certainly appear in the same neighborhood as false Solomon’s seal which prefers the shadier, drier habitats of forested woodlands. Based on my own observations when observing the two growing nearby each other, I find that starry false Solomon’s seal tends to bloom a bit earlier than its neighbor. Other differences are that starry false Solomon’s seal berries are slightly larger at 1/4″ in diameter, and ripen to a deeper, darker reddish-purple. In contrast, false Solomon’s seal berries ripen to a bright red. The flower clusters of starry false Solomon’s seal have no more than 20 or so blooms, usually less, while false Solomon’s seal clusters of berries that are quite numerous.

Unripe fruit is green with purple stripes, another easy identifying trait to look for in differentiating this plant from false Solomon’s seal — and a very pretty one to look for!

The leaves of both false and starry false Solomon’s seal greatly resemble those of true Solomon’s seal. Because of the toxicity of all the mature parts of their namesake — true Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum) — it is important to learn to distinguish between them.