Maianthemum dilatatum

False lily of the valley

Family: Ruscaceae · Type: perennial · Native

False lily of the valley is a California native perennial found in western Northwest California and Central Coast bioregions in moist, shady conifer forests at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces white flowers in racemes 2 to 8 centimeters long with 10 to 50 small blooms. Growing with slender rhizomes and erect stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall, it spreads slowly across forest floors. Its leaves are large and heart-shaped, typically 2 to 3 per stem, measuring 5 to 20 centimeters long with smooth edges and sparse hairs underneath. The fruit is a bright red berry approximately 6 millimeters in diameter, containing brown seeds.

Habitat: Moist, shady, conifer forest

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: w NW, CCo

California counties: Humboldt, Del Norte, Marin, San Mateo, Mendocino, Sonoma, Alameda, Napa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.