Lily of the valley

Lily of the valley, sometimes written lily-of-the-valley,[1] scientific name Convallaria majalis/ˌ[2] is a sweetly scented, highly poisonous woodland flowering plant that is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia, and Europe.

It is possibly the only species in the genus Convallaria (depending on whether C. keiskei and C. transcaucasica are recognised as separate species). In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamilyNolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae[3]). It was formerly placed in its own family Convallariaceae, and, like manylilioid monocots, before that in the lily family Liliaceae.

Description[edit]
Convallaria majalis is a herbaceous perennial plant that forms extensive colonies by spreading underground stemscalled rhizomes. New upright shoots are formed at the ends of stolons in summer,[4] these upright dormant stems are often called pips.[5] These grow in the spring into new leafy shoots that still remain connected to the other shoots under ground, often forming extensive colonies. The stems grow to 15–30 cm tall, with one or two leaves 10–25 cm long; flowering stems have two leaves and a raceme of 5–15 flowers on the stem apex.

The flowers have six white tepals (rarely pink), fused at the base to form a bell-shape, 5–10 mm diameter, and sweetly scented; flowering is in late spring, in mild winters in the Northern Hemisphere it is in early March. The fruit is a small orange-red berry 5–7 mm diameter that contains a few large whitish to brownish colored seeds that dry to a clear translucent round bead 1–3 mm wide. Plants are self-sterile, and colonies consisting of a single clone do not set seed.[6]

Distribution[edit]
19th-century illustration

Convallaria majalis is a native of Europe, where it largely avoids the Mediterranean and Atlantic margins.[7] An eastern variety, C. majalis var. manschurica occurs in Japan and parts of eastern Asia. A limited native population of C. majalisvar. montana occurs in the Eastern United States.[8] There is, however, some debate as to the native status of the American variety.[9]

Like many perennial flowering plants, C. majalis exhibits dual reproductive modes by producing offspring asexually by vegetative means and by seed, produced via the fusion of gametes.[10]

Ecology[edit]
Convallaria majalis is a plant of partial shade, and mesophile type that prefers warm summers. It likes soils that are silty or sandy and acid to moderately alkaline,[11] with preferably a plentiful amount of humus. The Royal Horticultural Society states that slightly alkaline soils are the most favoured.[12] It is an Euroasiatic and suboceanic species that lives in mountains up to 1,500 m altitude.[13]

Convallaria majalis is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the grey chi. Adults and larvae of the leaf beetle Lilioceris merdigera are also able to tolerate the cardenolides and thus feed on the leaves.[14]

Taxonomy[edit]
Convallaria majalis var. rosea

There are three varieties that have sometimes been separated out as distinct species or subspecies by some botanists.[15]
 * Convallaria majalis var. keiskei – from China and Japan, with red fruit and bowl-shaped flowers (now widely cited as Convallaria keiskei)[6][16]
 * C. majalis var. majalis – from Eurasia, with white midribs on the flowers
 * C. majalis var. montana – from the United States, with green-tinted midribs on the flowers

Convallaria transcaucasica is recognised as a distinct species by some authorities, while the species formerly calledConvallaria japonica is now classified as Ophiopogon japonicus.[16]

Garden use[edit]
Variegated cultivar early in spring

Double-flowered Convallaria majalis

Convallaria majalis is sometimes grown in gardens for its scented flowers and ground-covering abilities in shady locations. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[17] In favourable conditions it can form large colonies.

Various kinds and cultivars are grown, including those with double flowers, rose-colored flowers, variegated foliage and ones that grow larger than the typical species.[16] Traditionally Convallaria majalis has been grown in pots and winter forced to provide flowers during the winter months, both for as potted plants and as cut flowers.[18]
 * C. majalis 'Albostriata' has white-striped leaves
 * C. majalis 'Green Tapestry', 'Haldon Grange', 'Hardwick Hall', 'Hofheim', 'Marcel', 'Variegata' and 'Vic Pawlowski's Gold' are other variegated cultivars[16]
 * C. majalis 'Berlin Giant' and C. majalis 'Géant de Fortin' (syn. 'Fortin's Giant') are larger-growing cultivars[16]
 * C. majalis 'Flore Pleno' has double flowers.[16]
 * C. majalis 'Rosea' sometimes found under the name C. majalis var. rosea, has pink flowers.[16]

Christian legend[edit]
The flower is also known as Our Lady's tears or Mary's tears from Christian legends that it sprang from the weeping of the Virgin Mary during the crucifixion of Jesus. Other etiologies have its coming into being from Eve's tears after she was driven with Adam from the Garden of Eden[26] or from the blood shed bySaint Leonard of Noblac during his battles with a dragon.[citation needed]

The name "lily of the valley" is used in some English translations of the Bible in Song of Songs 2:1, but the Hebrew phrase "shoshannat-ha-amaqim" in the original text (literally "lily of the valleys") does not refer to this plant. It is possible, though, that the biblical phrase may have had something to do with the origin or development of the modern plant-name.

It is a symbol of humility in religious painting. Lily of the valley is considered the sign of Christ's second coming. The power of men to envision a better world was also attributed to the lily of the valley.[citation needed]

Other names and legends[edit]
Other names include May lily, May bells, and muguet (French). In Bulgarian and Macedonian it is called момина сълза /momina.səlza/ and момина солзаrespectively, meaning "lass's tear".

Its scientific name, majalis or maialis, means "of or belonging to May", and old astrological books place the plant under the dominion of Mercury, since Maia, the daughter of Atlas, was the mother of Mercury or Hermes.[citation needed]

In the "language of flowers", the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness.[27] Legend tells of the affection of a lily of the valley for a nightingale that did not come back to the woods until the flower bloomed in May.[citation needed]

Use in weddings[edit]
Duchess of Cambridge with bridal bouquet featuring lily of the valley

Lily of the valley has been used in weddings,[27] although it can be very expensive.[28] Lily of the valley was featured in the bridal bouquet at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.[28][29] Lily of the valley was also the flower chosen by Princess Grace of Monaco to be featured in her bridal bouquet.

Symbolic uses[edit]
At the beginning of the 20th century, it became tradition in France to sell lily of the valley on international labour day, 1 May (also called La Fête du Muguet (Lily of the Valley Day) by labour organisations and private persons without paying sales tax (on that day only) as a symbol of spring.[30] The Norwegian municipality Lunner has a lily of the valley on its coat-of-arms.

Lily of the valley was the floral emblem of Yugoslavia,[31] and it also became the national flower of Finland in 1967.[32]