Polygonatum

Herbs, perennial, from long, knotty, creeping, occasionally branched rhizomes; leaf scars conspicuous; roots fibrous to fleshy. Stems simple, leafy, erect to arching, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves simple, alternate [opposite or verticillate], dispersed along stem, short-petiolate, subsessile, or clasping; blade ovate or lanceolate to linear, margins entire. Inflorescences racemose, with 1–10(–15) flowers on axillary peduncles, except for distal- and proximal-most axils; peduncle glabrous [pubescent]. Flowers nodding or pendulous; tepals 6, persistent, marcescent, connate basally into cylindrical tube, distinct, tips short, valvate; stamens 6, included, adnate to perianth tube; filament surfaces various; anthers basifixed [dorsifixed], dehiscence introrse; ovary superior, 3-locular, ovoid to globose; septal nectaries present; style slender, included; stigma capitate to obscurely 3-lobed; pedicel articulate, glabrous. Fruits baccate, dark blue to black [red], globose, glaucous, pulpy. Seeds yellowish tan to brownish olive, globose or subglobose, 3–4.5 mm. x = 10 [9–15].

Distribution

Temperate regions, North America, Eurasia, especially China and Japan.

Discussion

Species 57 (3 in the flora).

Polygonatum is a member of the Polygonatae, a tribe now assigned to the Ruscaceae sensu lato (P. J. Rudall et al. 2000) or a more narrowly defined Convallariaceae (J. G. Conran and M. N. Tamura 1998; J. Yamashita and M. N. Tamura 2000). It is a complex genus with some species that are highly variable and wide-ranging, and others that are not. The flora provides examples of both. Polyploids arising from different base numbers and hybridization contribute to generic variation. The North American species all have x = 10, in contrast to variable base numbers among the Eurasian species (S. Kawano and H. H. Iltis 1963; E. Therman 1950, 1953, 1953b; M. N. Tamura 1993, 1995).

In Polygonatum, filament morphology and level of tube insertion provide useful distinctions at the species level (M. N. Tamura 1993). Bee vibration, associated with the pendulous perianth tubes, which include the anthers and style, is an essential feature of the pollination system (A. S. Corbet et al. 1988).

Young shoots and leaves can be boiled and eaten like asparagus, while the rhizomes reportedly have been dried and ground into flour or boiled and eaten like potatoes (L. Peterson 1978). Numerous eastern North American tribes, including the Cherokee, Chippewa, Iroquois, and Menominee, used plants of the genus as an analgesic or stimulant, or as a dermatological, cathartic, gynecological, and gastrointestinal aid (D. E. Moerman 1986). The berries contain an anthraquinone that causes vomiting and diarrhea.

The arching stems and fine foliage of Polygonatum add architectural interest and focus to woodland shade gardens. In addition to the native species, the Eurasian P. odoratum (Miller) Druce and the hybrid, P. ×hybridum Brügger (P. multiflorum × P. odoratum), are commonly cultivated. The European P. multiflorum (Linnaeus) Allioni has been reported as locally naturalized in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec (B. Boivin 1967c).

Selected References

Abramova, L. I. 1975. On the taxonomical structure of the genus Polygonatum Mill. Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow & Leningrad) 60: 490–497.

Bush, B. F. 1927. The species of Polygonatum. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 10: 385–400.

Gates, R. R. 1917. A revision of the genus Polygonatum in North America. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 44: 117–126.

Ownbey, R. P. 1944. The liliaceous genus Polygonatum in North America. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 31: 373–413.

Tamura, M. N., A. E. Schwarzbach, S. Kruse, and R. Reski. 1997. Biosystematics studies on the genus Polygonatum (Convallariaceae) IV. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on restriction site mapping of the chloroplast gene trnK. Feddes Repert. 108: 159–168.

Lower Taxa

Polygonatum biflorum, Polygonatum latifolium, Polygonatum pubescens

Key

1	Leaves glabrous on both surfaces; axillary peduncle 2–10(–15)-flowered.	Polygonatum biflorum
1	Leaves minutely hairy or pilose only on abaxial veins; axillary peduncle 1–3(–5)-flowered.	> 2
2	Perianth yellowish green; filaments densely warty; e North America.	Polygonatum pubescens
2	Perianth whitish, tipped with green; filaments glabrous or sparsely downy; New England.	Polygonatum latifolium