Get to Know False Solomon’s Seal

False Solomon's Seal
Polygonatum commutatum
Lily family (Liliaceae)

According the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, False Solomon’s Seal is a perennial plant that grows from thick, underground stems.

It is a native plant to Illinois.

Its aboveground stems are upright, unbranched, smooth or finely hairy, and up to three feet tall.

Leaves are alternate, lance‐shaped to oval, and usually hairy on the lower surface. Each leaf may be six inches long and three inches wide.

Flowers are arranged in a panicle at the end of the stem, and each flower is up to one‐sixth inch wide. The white flowers are six‐segmented and do not have distinguishable petals or sepals. The fruits are spherical, red berries that may be one‐fourth inch in diameter.

Habitats include moist to slightly dry deciduous woodlands, lower wooded slopes, edges of shady seeps, young flatwoods, woodland borders, and fencerows that are overgrown with shrubs or trees.

The False Solomon’s Seal flowers from May through early June.