Maianthemum bifolium
May lily
How do you recognise May lily?
The stem is 10–20 cm tall, finely hairy in its upper part, and usually carries two leaves. The blade is heart-shaped, pointed, with an entire margin and parallel veins. The flowers are small and white, with four perianth segments 2–3 mm long.
What is it confused with?
Lily of the valley has much larger oval leaves and hanging bell flowers. May lily carries small upright stars in an upright spike.
Where does May lily grow, and when does it flower?
Grows in dry and mesic groves, herb-rich heath forest, forest edges, wood pasture, and along streams, and does particularly well in shady spruce forest. Flowering is in May and June, and dark red berries follow in autumn.
Can you collect it for a herbarium?
May lily is a very common forest plant, and one flowering shoot is enough. Careful. Do not taste this plant.
Did you know?
The veins run from the base of the blade to its tip in curves rather than branching into a net, which is typical of monocots. The plant spreads from its rootstock and often covers wide areas of the spruce forest floor.
Where does May lily grow in Finland?
The map shows where the species has been recorded. Darker squares mean more observations.
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Observations: GBIF · Map: CARTO, OpenStreetMap
Sources: fi.wikipedia.org, luontoportti.com
Identify plants with your phone
Linnea identifies a plant from a photo and tells you its name and its story. Every find takes its own numbered place in your herbarium, with the day and the town where you found it.
