Lily-Of-The-Valley
Growth habit
Herbaceous
Perennation
Long-lived polycarpic perennial
Native distribution
Europe; Naturalized in Eastern N. America
Biocultural value
The plant has been used to treat heart disease and dropsy. It contains the glycoside convallatoxin. This dainty, fragrant flower was emblematic of the Virgin Mary. It was also an emblem of Whitsuntide. According to legend it arose from the blood of Saint Leonard, spilled in battle with a dragon. Young leaves yield a pale yellow-green dye with a chrome mordant. Older leaves collected in the Autumn yield a gold dye.
Location
Source of plant
Audry O'Connor
Description
Perennial reaching 8" in height, forming dense carpets; leaves 2 or 3, lanceolate-ovate to elliptic, to 8"long, glabrous; flowers white, nodding, fragrant, bracts lanceolate, shorter than pedicels; seeds nearlyglobose.
USDA Hardiness Zone
3
Special characteristics
invasive, fragrance, other ethnobotanical uses, medicinal/pharmaceutical