Lily of the valley

Lore & Background

Convallaria majalis is a herbaceous perennial that spreads via rhizomes, forming extensive colonies. It grows 15–35 cm tall with two leaves and a one-sided raceme of six to twelve pendulous, sweetly scented white flowers. The fruit is a poisonous orange-red berry containing seeds. The plant is self-incompatible, so single-clone colonies do not set seed. Formerly divided into three varieties, these are now recognized as separate species: Convallaria majalis sensu stricto (Europe and western Asia), Convallaria keiskei (China and Japan), and Convallaria pseudomajalis (eastern North America). The plant contains roughly 38 different cardiac glycosides, making all parts highly toxic if ingested. In pre-modern England, it was known as glovewort (used in a salve for sore hands) or Apollinaris (legend says it was discovered by Apollo). Other names include May bells, Our Lady's tears, and Mary's tears. Its French name, muguet, appears in perfume names.

Reader's Guide

Lily of the valley is significant as a widely cultivated garden plant, valued for its scented flowers and ground-covering ability in shade. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Culturally, it is used in weddings (including the bridal bouquet of Prince William and Catherine Middleton) and is sold on 1 May in France as a symbol of spring. In the language of flowers, it signifies the return of happiness. Despite historical use in folk medicine (referenced in Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped), there is no scientific evidence of effective medicinal uses. The plant's toxicity makes it dangerous if ingested, causing abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and irregular heartbeats. Ecologically, it serves as a food plant for some moth and butterfly larvae and is dispersed by granivorous rodents.

Did You Know?

• The plant contains roughly 38 different cardiac glycosides, making all parts highly poisonous.
• Its French name, muguet, is used in perfumes because no natural aromatic extract can be produced from the flower.
• In pre-modern England, it was called glovewort because it was used to make a salve for sore hands.

Botanical Description & Growth Cycle

Convallaria majalis is a herbaceous perennial that spreads through underground rhizomes, forming extensive colonies over time. New upright shoots develop at the ends of stolons during summer, then grow into leafy shoots the following spring while remaining connected to the parent plant beneath the soil. Stems reach 15 to 35 cm in height, bearing two (occasionally three) leaves that measure 5 to 20 cm long and 3 to 7 cm broad. The flowering stem carries a one-sided raceme of six to twelve pendulous blossoms. Each flower has six white tepals—rarely pink, as in the 'Rosea' cultivar—fused at the base into a bell shape with reflexed tips, 5 to 10 mm in diameter, and sweetly scented. Blooming falls in late spring, typically May through June in Britain. The fruit is a small orange-red berry, 5 to 7 mm across, holding an average of 3.9 seeds that dry into translucent beads 1 to 3 mm wide. The berry persists roughly 47.5 days, is 85.8 percent water, and its dry weight comprises 14.6 percent carbohydrates and 1.3 percent lipids. The plant is self-incompatible, so a single-clone colony cannot set seed.

Taxonomy & Shifting Classification

The taxonomic placement of Convallaria majalis has shifted considerably across centuries of botanical work. In the current APG III system, the genus sits within the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Convallarioideae, which was formerly the standalone family Ruscaceae. Before that reorganization it occupied its own family, Convallariaceae, and even earlier, like many lilioid monocots, it was lumped into the lily family Liliaceae. Historically the species was treated as encompassing three varieties: var. majalis from Europe and western Asia (white midribs on flowers), var. keiskei from China and Japan (red fruit, bowl-shaped flowers), and var. montana from the southern Appalachian Mountains (green-tinted midribs). Modern taxonomy has elevated the latter two to full species status as Convallaria keiskei and Convallaria pseudomajalis, leaving C. majalis sensu stricto for the European and western Asian form. C. transcaucasica is recognized as distinct by some authorities but not generally accepted, and the species formerly called Convallaria japonica has been reclassified as Ophiopogon japonicus.

Ecology, Habitat & Ecological Interactions

Convallaria majalis thrives in partial shade and is classified as a mesophile that favors warm summers. It tolerates both acidic and alkaline soils, preferring silty or sandy substrates, though it also appears locally in wet fen soils, ideally with abundant humus. In Europe it largely avoids the Mediterranean margin and is absent as a native from Ireland, though it has naturalized there. The plant exhibits dual reproductive strategies, producing offspring both asexually through vegetative spread and sexually via seed. In the food web, its leaves serve as a food source for larvae of certain moth and butterfly species, including the grey chi, while adults and larvae of the leaf beetle Lilioceris merdigera have evolved tolerance to the plant's cardenolides and feed on its foliage. Granivorous rodents occasionally consume the fruit, eating most seeds but only a small portion of the pulp, and their hoarding behavior inadvertently disperses seeds that escape predation.

Cultivation, Naming Traditions & Toxicity

Widely cultivated for its fragrant blooms and ground-covering utility in shady garden spots, Convallaria majalis has earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. In favorable conditions it can form large colonies. Breeders have developed numerous cultivars selected for double flowers ('Flore Pleno'), rose-colored blooms ('Rosea'), variegated foliage ('Albostriata,' 'Green Tapestry,' 'Variegata,' 'Vic Pawlowski's Gold,' among others), and larger stature ('Berlin Giant,' 'Géant de Fortin'). Traditionally the plant has been winter-forced in pots to supply cut flowers during colder months. The flower's scent, particularly the compound bourgeonal, has inspired perfumes, and the French name muguet frequently appears in fragrance branding. In pre-modern England the plant was called glovewort, a reference to a salve made from it for sore hands, or Apollinaris, after a legend crediting Apollo with its discovery. Other common names include May bells, Our Lady's tears, and Mary's tears. Despite its beauty, all parts are potentially poisonous, containing roughly 38 different cardiac glycosides that are highly toxic if ingested, and the attractive red berries pose a particular risk to children.