Lily of the valley

For other uses, see Lily of the valley (disambiguation).

Lily of the valley
Inflorescence
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Convallaria
Species:
C. majalis
Binomial name
Convallaria majalis
19th-century illustration

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis /ˌkɒnvəˈlɛəriə məˈdʒeɪlɪs/),[2] sometimes written lily-of-the-valley,[3] is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe.[4][5] Convallaria majalis var. montana, also known as the American lily of the valley, is native to North America.[6][7]

Due to the concentration of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides), it is highly poisonous if consumed by humans or other animals.[8][9]

Other names include May bells, Our Lady's tears, and Mary's tears. Its French name, muguet, sometimes appears in the names of perfumes imitating the flower's scent. In pre-modern England, the plant was known as glovewort (as it was a wort used to create a salve for sore hands), or Apollinaris (according to a legend that it was discovered by Apollo).[10]

  1. ^ Bilz, Melanie (2013). "Convallaria majalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T202965A2758291.
  2. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. pp. 606–607.
  3. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. ^ "Invasive Species Photo Gallery - Wisconsin DNR". dnr.wi.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  5. ^ "lily of the valley: Convallaria majalis (Liliales: Liliaceae): Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States". www.invasiveplantatlas.org. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  6. ^ "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  7. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Convallaria majuscula". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  8. ^ "Lily of the valley: Guide to Poisonous Plants". Colorado State University. 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Lily of the valley: Safe and Poisonous Garden Plants". University of California. 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  10. ^ Cockayne, Thomas Oswald (1864). Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England: Being a Collection of Documents, for the Most Part Never Before Printed, Illustrating the History of Science in this Country Before the Norman Conquest. London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green. pp. 121. glovewort.