False Solomon's-seal
Maianthemum racemosum
Found in moist to dry forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 2–3 feet
- Spread
- 1.5–3 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- August to October
Recorded in 1 Florida county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Care
- Handle roots gently when moving plants.
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Maianthemum
- Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
- Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
12BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Maianthemum
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
9BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Maianthemum
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
- Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
- Patagioenas fasciataBand-tailed Pigeon
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Beetles 4
- Bruchus minus
- Mordellistena biplagiata
- Trichius affinis
- Valgus canaliculatus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Flies 5
- Criorhina decora
- Culex nigripes
- Empis humilis
- Siphona geniculata
- Volucella vesiculosa
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Ruscaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–8b
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Mid April to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 2a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Spread · “1.5–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
False Solomon's seal; False Solomons Seal; Smilacina racemosa; Solomons Plume
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Spreads slowly. Slowly forms a large colony from thick rhizomes. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications