Smilacina racemosum

Smilacina racemosa, also known as "False Solomon's Seal", is a hardy and robust perennial that resembles a giant lily of the valley, with its leaf shape and white spring flowers. White flower panicles are followed by clusters of decorative red fruits in autumn. Native to the moist to wet woodlands of North America, this very hardy and undemanding perennial slowly spreads through its rootstock, eventually forming a lush and low-maintenance ground cover.  

False Solomon's seal belongs to the family of lilies. Its natural habitat is moist and shaded wooded areas of a large part of North America. It is a perennial herbaceous plant that starts growing in spring and disappears in winter. Although its establishment is a bit slow, it eventually forms a beautiful clump of leafy stems 50 to 80 cm (20 to 32in) tall and at least 50 cm (20in) wide, depending on the richness of the soil. Once established, it requires no maintenance.

In spring, gracefully arched stems emerge from its base, adorned with shiny, deep green, entire, 12 to 15 cm (5 to 6in) long, narrowly ovate to elliptical leaves, strongly veined, and arranged alternately. They turn yellow in autumn before falling. At the tips of the stems, remarkable white and fluffy, dense panicles unfurl in May and June, adorned with numerous small 6-petaled, 5 to 6 mm (0in) wide, white to cream-white flowers, sometimes tinged with green. After pollination, small round, green berries form, becoming red, speckled with purple when ripe. 

The false Solomon's seal is an easy and durable plant, adaptable to many regions. It grows in any soil which is moist, or dry in summer, without too much limestone, and blooms in shade or sun. This perennial does not mind competition from tree and shrub roots, so is valuable for landscaping these areas which can often be difficult to plant. Periwinkles, perennial geranium macrorrhizum, Corsican hellebore or Helleborus sternii, as well as toad lilies (Tricyrtis), will precede, accompany, or take over from its flowering, in filtered light.

Uses: its roots are edible when cooked, after soaking in an alkaline solution, and its young shoots can be eaten like asparagus. The mature stems develop a very pronounced bitterness. The fruits are edible but laxative when consumed raw in large quantities, and have a sweet-bitter flavour similar to molasses. They are rich in vitamin C.