Lily of the valley

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Lily-of-the-valley
Convallaria majalis inflorescence - Keila.jpg
Inflorescence, Keila, Estonia
Convallaria majalis 2016-11-08 4871.jpg
Fruit, Poland
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Convallarioideae
Genus: Convallaria
Species:
C. majalis
Binomial name
Convallaria majalis
L.

Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis), [2] [3] also written lily of the valley, [1] is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native in Europe and western and northern Asia. [4]

Contents

The former varieties Convallaria majalis var. montana (native to eastern North America) and Convallaria majalis var. keiskei (native to eastern Asia), are now split as the separate species Convallaria pseudomajalis , [5] and Convallaria keiskei , [6] respectively.

Due to the concentration of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides), it is highly poisonous if consumed by humans or other animals. [7] [8]

Other names include May bells, Our Lady's tears, and Mary's tears. Its French name, muguet, sometimes appears in the names of perfumes imitating the flower's scent. In pre-modern England, the plant was known as glovewort (as it was a wort used to create a salve for sore hands), or Apollinaris (according to a legend that it was discovered by Apollo). [9]

Description

Foliage and flowers Lily-of-the-Valley (49801148398).jpg
Foliage and flowers

Convallaria majalis is a herbaceous perennial plant that often forms extensive colonies by spreading underground stems called rhizomes. New upright shoots are formed at the ends of stolons in summer. [10] These grow in the spring into new leafy shoots that still remain connected to the other shoots under ground. The stems grow to 15–35 cm (6–14 in) tall, with two (rarely three) leaves 5–20 cm (2–8 in) long and 3–7 cm (1–3 in) broad. [3] [11] The flowering stems have a one-sided raceme of six to twelve pendulous flowers on the upper part of the stem. [3]

The flowers have six white tepals (rarely pink), fused at the base to form a bell shape and with reflexed tips, 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) diameter, and are sweetly scented; flowering is in late spring, typically May to June in Britain; [3] [11] in mild winters in the Northern Hemisphere it can be as early as March.[ citation needed ] The fruit is a small orange-red berry 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) diameter that contains an average of 3.9 [12] large whitish to brownish seeds that dry to a clear translucent round bead 1–3 mm (0.04–0.12 in) wide. The fruit persists for an average of 47.5 days. The fruit averages 85.8% water, and their dry weight includes 14.6% carbohydrates and 1.3% lipids. [12] Plants are self-incompatible, and colonies consisting of a single clone do not set seed.

Taxonomy

Natural habitat in central Germany NSG Mastberg und Innersteaue - Maiglockchen (4).jpg
Natural habitat in central Germany

In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Convallarioideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae [13] ). It was formerly placed in its own family Convallariaceae, and, like many lilioid monocots, before that in the lily family Liliaceae.

In the past, it was widely treated in three varieties, [10] [14] but these are now separated out as distinct species. [15]

C. transcaucasica is recognised as a distinct species, subspecies, or variety of C. majalis by some authorities, but is not generally accepted as distinct. [4] The species formerly called Convallaria japonica is now classified as Ophiopogon japonicus . [17]

Distribution

Convallaria majalis is a native of Europe, where it largely avoids the Mediterranean margin, [19] and is also absent from Ireland as a native species, though is naturalised there. [2]

Like many perennial flowering plants, C. majalis exhibits dual reproductive modes by producing offspring asexually by vegetative means and sexually by seed, produced via the fusion of gametes. [20]

Ecology

Convallaria majalis is a plant of partial shade, and a mesophile type that prefers warm summers. It grows widely in both acidic soils and alkaline soils, liking soils that are silty or sandy, but also locally in wet fen soils, [2] [21] with preferably a plentiful amount of humus. It is a Euroasiatic and suboceanic species that occurs from sea level up to 490 m (1,600 ft) altitude in Great Britain, [2] and in central and southern Europe up to 2,300 m (7,500 ft) altitude. [11] [22]

Convallaria majalis is used as a food plant by the larvae of some moth and butterfly (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. [23]

The fruit is sometimes removed by graniviorous rodents, consuming most of the seeds but only a small proportion of the fruit pulp. Their hoarding of both seeds and whole fruit has been observed. As some seeds inevitably escape predation, they also act as seed dispersers. [24]

Cultivars

Convallaria majalis is widely 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. [25] [26] In favourable conditions it can form large colonies.

Various kinds and cultivars are grown, including those with double flowers, rose-coloured flowers, variegated foliage and ones that grow larger than the typical species. [17]

Traditionally, Convallaria majalis has been grown in pots and winter forced to provide flowers during the winter months, both in potted plants and as cut flowers. [27]

Chemistry

General chemical make-up of a cardiac glycoside CardiacGlycoside.svg
General chemical make-up of a cardiac glycoside

Roughly 38 different cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) – which are highly toxic if consumed by humans or animals – occur in the plant, including: [7] [8] [28]

  • convallarin
  • convallamarin
  • convallatoxin
  • convallotoxoloside
  • convallosid
  • neoconvalloside
  • glucoconvalloside
  • majaloside
  • convallatoxon
  • corglycon
  • cannogenol-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside
  • cannogenol-3-O-β-D-allomethyloside
  • cannogenol-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-β-D-glucoside,
  • cannogenol-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside,
  • strophanthidin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside,
  • strophanthidin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-arabinoside,
  • strophanthidin-3-O-α-L-rhamnosido-2-β-D-glucoside,
  • sarmentogenin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside
  • sarmentogenin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-guloside
  • 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside,
  • 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin
  • arabinosido-6-deoxyallose
  • lokundjoside

The scent of lily of the valley, specifically the ligand bourgeonal, was once thought to attract mammalian sperm. [29] The 2003 discovery of this phenomenon prompted research into odour reception, [30] but a 2012 study demonstrated instead that at high concentrations, bourgeonal imitated the role of progesterone in stimulating sperm to swim (chemotaxis), a process unrelated to odour reception. [31]

Toxicology

All parts of the plant are potentially poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children. [7] [8] [32] If ingested, the plant can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and irregular heartbeats. [28]

Uses

Perfume

In 1956, the French firm Dior produced a fragrance simulating lily-of-the-valley, which was Christian Dior's favourite flower. Diorissimo was designed by Edmond Roudnitska. [33] Although it has since been reformulated, it is considered a classic. [33] [34] Because no natural aromatic extract can be produced from lily of the valley, its scent must be recreated synthetically; while Diorissimo originally achieved this with hydroxycitronellal, the European Chemicals Agency now considers it a skin sensitizer and its use has been restricted. [35] [36]

Other perfumes imitating or based on the flower include Henri Robert's Muguet de Bois (1936), [37] Penhaligon's Lily of the Valley (1976), [33] and Olivia Giacobetti's En Passant (2000). [33]

Weddings and other celebrations

Lily of the valley has been used in weddings [38] and off-season can be very expensive. [39] Lily of the valley was featured in the bridal bouquet at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. [39] [40] Lily of the valley was also the flower chosen by Princess Grace of Monaco to be featured in her bridal bouquet.[ citation needed ]

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 or Lily of the Valley Day) by labour organisations and private persons without paying sales tax (on that day only) as a symbol of spring. [41]

Lily of the valley is worn in Helston (Cornwall, UK) on Flora Day (8 May each year, see Furry Dance) representing the coming of "the May-o" and the summer. There is also a song sung in pubs around Cornwall (and on Flora Day in Cadgwith, near Helston) called "Lily of the Valley"; the song, strangely, came from the Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. [42]

Folk medicine

The plant has been used in folk medicine for centuries. [43] There is a reference to "Lilly of the valley water" in Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel Kidnapped , where it is said to be "good against the Gout", and that it "comforts the heart and strengthens the memory" and "restores speech to those that have the dumb palsey". [44] There is no scientific evidence that lily of the valley has any effective medicinal uses for treating human diseases. [7] [28]

Cultural symbolism

A Royal Vale cup and saucer decorated with a Lily of the valley motif Royal Vale 'Lily Of The Valley' cup and saucer - 2024-11-20 - Andy Mabbett - 01.jpg
A Royal Vale cup and saucer decorated with a Lily of the valley motif

The lily of the valley was the national flower of Yugoslavia, [45] and it also became the national flower of Finland in 1967. [46]

In the "language of flowers", the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness. [38]

Myths and religion

The name "lily of the valley", like its correspondences in some other European languages, is apparently a reference to the phrase "lily of the valleys" (sometimes also translated as "lily of the valley") in Song of Songs 2:1 ( שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים ). [47] European herbalists' use of the phrase to refer to a specific plant species seems to have appeared relatively late in the 16th [48] or 15th century. [49] The Neo-Latin term convallaria (coined by Carl Linnaeus) and, for example, the Swedish name liljekonvalj derives from the corresponding phrase lilium convallium in the Vulgate.

In culture

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bilz, Melanie (2013). "Convallaria majalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T202965A2758291.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Lily-of-the-valley Convallaria majalis L." PlantAtlas. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Streeter, David (2010). Flower Guide. London: Collins. p. 650. ISBN   978-0-00-718389-0.
  4. 1 2 3 "Convallaria majalis L." Plants of the World Online. 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  5. 1 2 "Convallaria majalis var. montana H.E.Ahles". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  6. 1 2 "Convallaria majalis var. keiskei (Miq.) Makino". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Lily of the valley: Guide to Poisonous Plants". Colorado State University. 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 "Lily of the valley: Safe and Poisonous Garden Plants". University of California. 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Cockayne, Thomas Oswald (1864). Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England: Being a Collection of Documents, for the Most Part Never Before Printed, Illustrating the History of Science in this Country Before the Norman Conquest. London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green. pp.  121. glovewort.
  10. 1 2 "Convallaria in Flora of North America @". Efloras.org. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  11. 1 2 3 Blamey, Marjorie; Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). The Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 462. ISBN   0-340-40170-2.
  12. 1 2 Ehrlén & Eriksson 1991.
  13. ↑ Chase, M.W.; Reveal, J.L. & Fay, M.F. (2009), "A subfamilial classification for the expanded asparagalean families Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 132–136, doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00999.x
  14. 1 2 Weakley, A. S. (2020). Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. p. 281. (Download page)
  15. ↑ "Convallaria L." Plants of the World Online. 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  16. ↑ OHARA, MASASHI; ARAKI, KIWAKO; YAMADA, ETSUKO; KAWANO, SHOICHI (2006). "Life-history monographs of Japanese plants. 6: Convallaria keiskei Miq. (Convallariaceae)". Plant Species Biology. 21 (2). Wiley: 119–126. Bibcode:2006PSBio..21..119O. doi:10.1111/j.1442-1984.2006.00157.x. ISSN   0913-557X.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RHS Plant Finder 2009–2010. Dorling Kindersley. 2009. pp. 195, 196. ISBN   978-1-4053-4176-9.
  18. ↑ "Convallaria majalis var. montana in Flora of North America". eFloras.org.
  19. ↑ "Liljekonvalj Blomningstid" (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  20. ↑ Vandepitte, Katrien; De Meyer, Tim; Jacquemyn, Hans (February 2013). "The impact of extensive clonal growth on fine-scale mating patterns: a full paternity analysis of a lily-of-the-valley population (Convallaria majalis)". Annals of Botany. 111 (4): 623–628. doi:10.1093/aob/mct024. PMC   3605957 . PMID   23439847.
  21. ↑ "Lily of the Valley Planting Guide". easytogrowbulbs.com. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  22. ↑ Rameau, J. C.; et al. (1989). Flore Forestière Française. Institut pour le développement Forestier. p. 1023. ISBN   978-2-904740-16-9.
  23. ↑ Whitman, Ann. "Controlling Lily Leaf Beetles". Gardner's Supply Company. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  24. ↑ Ehrlén & Eriksson 1993.
  25. ↑ "Convallaria majalis". RHS. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  26. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 22. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  27. ↑ Journal of horticulture and practical gardening. 1872. p. 378. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  28. 1 2 3 Roberts, Darren M.; Gallapatthy, Gamini; Dunuwille, Asunga; Chan, Betty S. (2016). "Pharmacological treatment of cardiac glycoside poisoning". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 81 (3): 488–495. doi:10.1111/bcp.12814. ISSN   0306-5251. PMC   4767196 . PMID   26505271.
  29. ↑ Marc Spehr; Günter Gisselmann; Alexandra Poplawski; Jeffrey A. Riffell; Christian H. Wetzel; Richard K. Zimmer; Hanns Hatt (2003). "Identification of a Testicular Odorant Receptor Mediating Human Sperm Chemotaxis" . Science . 299 (5615): 2054–8. Bibcode:2003Sci...299.2054S. doi:10.1126/science.1080376. PMID   12663925. S2CID   45306091 . Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  30. ↑ For example ScienceDaily 2007
  31. ↑ Christoph Brenker; Normann Goodwin; Ingo Weyand; Nachiket D Kashikar; Masahiro Naruse; Miriam Krähling; Astrid Müller; U Benjamin Kaupp; Timo Strünker (2012). "The CatSper channel: a polymodal chemosensor in human sperm". The EMBO Journal. 31 (7): 1654–1665. doi:10.1038/emboj.2012.30. PMC   3321208 . PMID   22354039. See also ScienceMag article
  32. ↑ "Poisonous plants: Lily of the valley". Ontario Poison Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children. 2015.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "Lily of the Valley Perfumes". Vogue slideshow.
  34. ↑ Patty. "Best Lily of the Valley Perfume – Muguet Guide". Perfume Posse, 8 April 2013.
  35. ↑ Turin, Luca; Sanchez, Tania (2018). Perfumes: The Guide 2018. Tallinn: Perfüümista ÖÜ. p. 304. ISBN   978-9949-88-553-4.
  36. ↑ "Substance Infocard: 7-hydroxycitronellal". European Chemicals Agency .
  37. ↑ Morris, Edwin T. (1984). Fragrance : A story of perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel. New York: Scribners. ISBN   978-0684181950.
  38. 1 2 "Wedding Traditions & Trivia". Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  39. 1 2 "Lily of the Valley Stars in Royal Bridal Bouquet". Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  40. ↑ Balcony kisses seal royal wedding
  41. ↑ "Lily of the Valley – May Day in France". wordpress.com. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  42. ↑ Coleman and Burley, Hilary and Sally (2015). Shout Kernow. London: Francis Boutle Publishers. pp. 53–55. ISBN   978-1903427972.
  43. ↑ Weiss, RF (1988). Herbal Medicine. Ab Arcanum. pp. 146–147. ISBN   978-0906584194.
  44. ↑ Stevenson, RL (1886). Kidnapped. Cassell and Company.
  45. ↑ "Lily of the valley". flowers.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  46. ↑ "Lily of the Valley – Finland's National Flower". wordpress.com. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  47. ↑ See also Shoshanat HaAmakim village
  48. ↑ "Lily of the valley | Search Online Etymology Dictionary".
  49. ↑ Keil, Gundolf. „Es hat vnser libe fraw gesprochen in dem puch der libe: ‚Ich pin ein plvm des tals vnd auch des grvnen waldes'": Die Einführung der Convallarin-Glykoside als Hinweis auf mährisch-schlesische Provenienz. In: Iva Kratochvilová, Lenka Vaňková (Hrsg.): Germanistik im Spiegel der Generationen. Festschrift Zdeněk Masařík. Opava/ Ostrava 2004, S. 72–132.
  50. ↑ Dunbar, Paul Laurence (1905). "Lily of the Valley". Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. pp. 9–10. ISBN   9781978194366 . Retrieved 2022-07-15.{{cite encyclopedia}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  51. ↑ "Lilies of the Valley". Tchaikovsky Research. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-07-16, citing Poznansky, Alexander (1996). Tchaikovsky. The quest for the inner man. Schirmer Books. pp. 336–7. ISBN   0028718852.
  52. ↑ "Lilies-of-the-Valley, 1916". Marc Chagall. 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-16. on display at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
  53. ↑ "'Breaking Bad' Face Off (TV Episode 2011)". IMDb (Plot Summary). Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  54. ↑ "Queen Elizabeth II: Poet laureate Simon Armitage marks death of monarch". BBC News. 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2022-09-13.

Bibliography

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