Maianthemum canadensis

May Lily Asparagaceae

The Canadian false lily-of-the-valley is proof that a woodland carpet needn’t shout to be noticed. This elegant rhizomatous perennial creeps quietly through the forest floor, producing slender stems clothed with two, occasionally three, glossy oval to heart-shaped leaves. In late spring, small clusters of delicate, fragrant, creamy-white flowers emerge above the foliage, followed by rounded berries which ripen from green through pale tones to red.

Native to eastern and central North America, M. canadense ranges from Newfoundland and Labrador westwards through the Canadian provinces to Manitoba, and south through the northeastern and north-central United States, including the Great Lakes and Appalachian regions. It is particularly characteristic of cool, acidic woodland, often growing beneath conifers and deciduous trees in humus-rich soils.

It also has an interesting ethnobotanical history. Several Indigenous peoples used the ripe berries as food, while the leaves and rhizomes featured in traditional medicinal preparations. The berries are edible when ripe, although hardly likely to inspire a revolution in the pudding department—their flavour is generally rather mild.

A charming woodland groundcover, it spreads by slender rhizomes to form colonies without the thuggish tendencies of some more adventurous groundcovers. Grow in partial to full shade, in cool, humus-rich, preferably acidic soil that remains moist but well drained.

Height: 10–20cm
Spread: 30–60cm
Flowering: May–June
Fruiting: July–September
Hardiness: H7, below -20°C
Position: Partial shade to shade
Soil: Moist, humus-rich, acidic to neutral soil
Habit: Rhizomatous woodland perennial