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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE LILY FAMILY | |||||||||
| The lilies are well-known in Saskatchewan. The most easily recognizable lily is the western red lily, our provincial flower. These plants are perennial herbs that grow from an underground bulb. The leaves are either on the stem or in basal rosettes. If the leaves are on the stem, they are alternately arranged and sheathing at the base. The inflorescences are at the top of the plant and are in an unbranched or umbrella-like cluster. Occasionally the flowers may be solitary. The flowers are usually regular in shape and have coloured tepals. The tepals frequently have stripes or spots. Each flower has six stamens and a superior ovary. The fruit is a capsule or berry. | |||||||||
| KING SOLOMON’S-SEAL | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| King Solomon’s-seal grows as tall as 200 cm from thick rhizomes. The stem is erect or arching. The leaves are alternate and do not have leaf stalks. The leaves are widest at or slightly below the middle and have between one and 19 prominent veins. The leaf axils have two to 10 flowers with flattened flower stalks. The tepals are fused at the base to form a small tube. The tepals are whitish to greenish-yellow in colour. The fruit is a berry. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| King’s Solomon’s-seal grows in moist, rich riparian woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| King Solomon’s-seal is endangered because it is rare or uncommon and is restricted to southwestern Saskatchewan. This species is almost always locally sparse. Probable threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY KING SOLOMON’S-SEAL | |||||||||
| * Are the flowers whitish to greenish-yellow? * Are the flowers in the leaf axils? * Are the tepals fused at the base to form a tube? * Did you find it in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found King Solomon’s-seal! | |||||||||
