Lily of the valley explained

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis ;),[1] sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe.[2] [3] Convallaria majalis var. montana, also known as the American lily of the valley, is native to North America.[4] [5]

Due to the concentration of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides), it is highly poisonous if consumed by humans or other animals.[6] [7]

Other names include May bells, Our Lady's tears, and Mary's tears. Its French name, muguet, sometimes appears in the names of perfumes imitating the flower's scent. In pre-modern England, the plant was known as glovewort (as it was a wort used to create a salve for sore hands), or Apollinaris (according to a legend that it was discovered by Apollo).[8]

Description

Convallaria majalis is a herbaceous perennial plant that often forms extensive colonies by spreading underground stems called rhizomes. New upright shoots are formed at the ends of stolons in summer, these upright dormant stems are often called pips.[9] These grow in the spring into new leafy shoots that still remain connected to the other shoots under ground. The stems grow to NaN0NaN0 tall, with one or two leaves NaN0NaN0 long; flowering stems have two leaves and a raceme of five to fifteen flowers on the stem apex.

The flowers have six white tepals (rarely pink), fused at the base to form a bell shape, NaN1NaN1 diameter, and sweetly scented; flowering is in late spring, in mild winters in the Northern Hemisphere it is in early March. The fruit is a small orange-red berry NaN1NaN1 diameter that contains a few large whitish to brownish colored seeds that dry to a clear translucent round bead NaN2NaN2 wide. Plants are self-incompatible, and colonies consisting of a single clone do not set seed.[10]

Taxonomy

In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It was formerly placed in its own family Convallariaceae, and, like many lilioid monocots, before that in the lily family Liliaceae.

There are three varieties that have sometimes been separated out as distinct species or subspecies by some botanists.[11] [12]

Convallaria transcaucasica is recognised as a distinct species by some authorities, while the species formerly called Convallaria japonica is now classified as Ophiopogon japonicus.[13]

Distribution

Convallaria majalis is a native of Europe, where it largely avoids the Mediterranean and Atlantic margins.[15] An eastern variety, C. majalis var. keiskei, occurs in Japan and parts of eastern Asia. A limited native population of C. majalis var. montana (synonym C. majuscula) occurs in the Eastern United States.[16] There is, however, some debate as to the native status of the American variety.[17]

Like many perennial flowering plants, C. majalis exhibits dual reproductive modes by producing offspring asexually by vegetative means and sexually by seed, produced via the fusion of gametes.[18]

Ecology

Convallaria majalis is a plant of partial shade, and a mesophile type that prefers warm summers. It likes soils that are silty or sandy and acid to moderately alkaline,[19] with preferably a plentiful amount of humus. The Royal Horticultural Society states that slightly alkaline soils are the most favored.[20] It is a Euroasiatic and suboceanic species that lives in mountains up to 1500-2NaN-2 in elevation.[21]

Convallaria majalis is used as a food plant by the larvae of some moth and butterfly (Lepidoptera) species including the grey chi. Adults and larvae of the leaf beetle Lilioceris merdigera are also able to tolerate the cardenolides and thus feed on the leaves.[22]

Cultivars

Convallaria majalis is widely grown in gardens for its scented flowers and ground-covering abilities in shady locations. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[23] [24] In favourable conditions it can form large colonies.

Various kinds and cultivars are grown, including those with double flowers, rose-colored flowers, variegated foliage and ones that grow larger than the typical species.[13]

Traditionally, Convallaria majalis has been grown in pots and winter forced to provide flowers during the winter months, both in potted plants and as cut flowers.[25]

Chemistry

Roughly 38 different cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) – which are highly toxic if consumed by humans or animals – occur in the plant, including:[6] [7] [26]

  • convallarin
  • convallamarin
  • convallatoxin
  • convallotoxoloside
  • convallosid
  • neoconvalloside
  • glucoconvalloside
  • majaloside
  • convallatoxon
  • corglycon
  • cannogenol-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside
  • cannogenol-3-O-β-D-allomethyloside
  • cannogenol-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-β-D-glucoside,
  • cannogenol-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside,
  • strophanthidin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside,
  • strophanthidin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-arabinoside,
  • strophanthidin-3-O-α-L-rhamnosido-2-β-D-glucoside,
  • sarmentogenin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside
  • sarmentogenin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-guloside
  • 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside,
  • 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin
  • arabinosido-6-deoxyallose
  • lokundjoside

The odor of lily of the valley, specifically the ligand bourgeonal, was once thought to attract mammalian sperm.[27] The 2003 discovery of this phenomenon prompted research into odor reception,[28] but a 2012 study demonstrated instead that at high concentrations, bourgeonal imitated the role of progesterone in stimulating sperm to swim (chemotaxis), a process unrelated to odor reception.[29]

Toxicology

All parts of the plant are potentially poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children.[6] [7] [30] If ingested, the plant can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and irregular heartbeats.[26]

Uses

Perfume

In 1956, the French firm Dior produced a fragrance simulating lily of the valley, which was Christian Dior's favorite flower. Diorissimo was designed by Edmond Roudnitska.[31] Although it has since been reformulated, it is considered a classic.[31] [32] Because no natural aromatic extract can be produced from lily of the valley, its scent must be recreated synthetically; while Diorissimo originally achieved this with hydroxycitronellal, the European Chemicals Agency now considers it a skin sensitizer and its use has been restricted.[33] [34]

Other perfumes imitating or based on the flower include Henri Robert's Muguet de Bois (1936),[35] Penhaligon's Lily of the Valley (1976),[31] and Olivia Giacobetti's En Passant (2000).[31]

Weddings and other celebrations

Lily of the valley has been used in weddings and off-season can be very expensive.[36] Lily of the valley was featured in the bridal bouquet at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.[36] [37] Lily of the valley was also the flower chosen by Princess Grace of Monaco to be featured in her bridal bouquet.

At the beginning of the 20th century, it became tradition in France to sell lily of the valley on international Labour Day, 1 May (also called La Fête du Muguet or Lily of the Valley Day) by labour organisations and private persons without paying sales tax (on that day only) as a symbol of spring.[38]

Lily of the valley is worn in Helston (Cornwall, UK) on Flora Day (8 May each year, see Furry Dance) representing the coming of "the May-o" and the summer. There is also a song sung in pubs around Cornwall (and on Flora Day in Cadgwith, near Helston) called "Lily of the Valley"; the song, strangely, came from the Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.[39]

Folk medicine

The plant has been used in folk medicine for centuries.[40] There is a reference to "Lilly of the valley water" in Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel Kidnapped, where it is said to be "good against the Gout", and that it "comforts the heart and strengthens the memory" and "restores speech to those that have the dumb palsey".[41] There is no scientific evidence that lily of the valley has any effective medicinal uses for treating human diseases.[6] [26]

Cultural symbolism

The lily of the valley was the national flower of Yugoslavia,[42] and it also became the national flower of Finland in 1967.[43]

In the "language of flowers", the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness.[44]

Myths and religion

The name "lily of the valley", like its correspondences in some other European languages, is apparently a reference to the phrase "lily of the valleys" (sometimes also translated as "lily of the valley") in Song of Songs 2:1 (Hebrew: {{linktext|שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים).[45] European herbalists' use of the phrase to refer to a specific plant species seems to have appeared relatively late in the 16th[46] or 15th century.[47] The Neo-Latin term convallaria (coined by Carl Linnaeus) and, for example, the Swedish name derives from the corresponding phrase lilium convallium in the Vulgate.

In culture

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sunset Western Garden Book . 1995 . 606–607.
  2. Web site: Invasive Species Photo Gallery - Wisconsin DNR. 2021-05-10. dnr.wi.gov.
  3. Web site: lily of the valley: Convallaria majalis (Liliales: Liliaceae): Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States. 2021-05-10. www.invasiveplantatlas.org.
  4. Web site: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin. 2021-05-10. www.wildflower.org.
  5. Web site: ITIS Standard Report Page: Convallaria majuscula. 2021-05-10. www.itis.gov.
  6. Web site: Lily of the valley: Guide to Poisonous Plants . Colorado State University . 29 July 2020 . 2019.
  7. Web site: Lily of the valley: Safe and Poisonous Garden Plants . University of California . 29 July 2020 . 2020.
  8. Book: Cockayne, Thomas Oswald. Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England: Being a Collection of Documents, for the Most Part Never Before Printed, Illustrating the History of Science in this Country Before the Norman Conquest. glovewort.. Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green. 1864. London. 121.
  9. Book: Mills . Linn. Post . Dick. 2005. Nevada gardener's guide. 137. 978-1-59186-116-4. Cool Springs Press. Nashville, Tenn..
  10. OHARA . MASASHI . ARAKI . KIWAKO . YAMADA . ETSUKO . KAWANO . SHOICHI . Life-history monographs of Japanese plants. 6: Convallaria keiskei Miq. (Convallariaceae) . Plant Species Biology . Wiley . 21 . 2 . 2006 . 0913-557X . 10.1111/j.1442-1984.2006.00157.x . 119–126.
  11. Web site: Convallaria in Flora of North America @ . Efloras.org . 2012-04-30.
  12. Book: Weakley, A. S. . 2020 . Flora of the southeastern United States . University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden . 281. (Download page)
  13. Book: RHS Plant Finder 2009–2010 . 2009 . . 978-1-4053-4176-9 . 195, 196.
  14. A. S. Weakley does not list green midribs among the distinctive characteristics of C. pseudomajalis, as he calls this taxon. – Book: Weakley, A. S. . 2020 . Flora of the southeastern United States . University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden . 281. (Download page)
  15. Web site: Liljekonvalj Blomningstid . sv . 16 May 2018.
  16. Web site: Convallaria majalis var. montana in Flora of North America . eFloras.org .
  17. Gleason, Henry A. and Cronquist, Arthur, (1991), Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, pp. 839–840. – In reply to Cronquist, A. S. Weakley points out that there is "a broad suite of morphological distinctions from European C. majalis" and that C. pseudomajalis, as he calls this taxon, is typically found "on ridges remote from present or past habitations" which excludes the idea of the taxon stemming from garden escapes. – Weakley, A. S. 2020. Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. p. 281 (Download page)
  18. Vandepitte. Katrien. De Meyer. Tim. Jacquemyn. Hans. The impact of extensive clonal growth on fine-scale mating patterns: a full paternity analysis of a lily-of-the-valley population (Convallaria majalis). Annals of Botany. February 2013. 111. 4. 623–628. 10.1093/aob/mct024. 23439847. 3605957.
  19. Web site: Lily of the Valley Planting Guide. easytogrowbulbs.com. 12 May 2015.
  20. RHS Encyclopaedia of Perennials
  21. Book: Rameau, J. C.. Flore Forestière Française. 1989. Institut pour le développement Forestier. 978-2-904740-16-9. 1023. etal.
  22. Web site: Whitman. Ann. Controlling Lily Leaf Beetles. Gardner's Supply Company. 12 May 2015.
  23. Web site: Convallaria majalis . RHS. 2020-04-17.
  24. Web site: AGM Plants - Ornamental . July 2017 . 22 . Royal Horticultural Society . 24 January 2018.
  25. Book: Journal of horticulture and practical gardening. 28 September 2010. 1872. 378.
  26. Roberts . Darren M. . Gallapatthy . Gamini . Dunuwille . Asunga . Chan . Betty S. . Pharmacological treatment of cardiac glycoside poisoning . British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 81 . 3. 2016 . 0306-5251 . 26505271 . 4767196 . 10.1111/bcp.12814 . 488–495.
  27. Marc Spehr . Günter Gisselmann . Alexandra Poplawski . Jeffrey A. Riffell . Christian H. Wetzel . Richard K. Zimmer . Hanns Hatt . 2003 . Identification of a Testicular Odorant Receptor Mediating Human Sperm Chemotaxis . . 299 . 5615 . 2054–8 . 10.1126/science.1080376 . 24 June 2012 . 12663925 . 2003Sci...299.2054S . 45306091.
    • See also: Babcock . Donner F. . 28 March 2003 . Development. Smelling the Roses? . . 299 . 5615 . 1993–1994 . 10.1126/science.1083059 . 12663902 . 83936617 . 12 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060504000922/http://scitec.uwichill.edu.bb/bcs/courses/Biochemistry/BL38B/pdf2/babcock03sci.pdf . 4 May 2006 . dead. .
  28. For example ScienceDaily 2007
  29. Christoph Brenker . Normann Goodwin . Ingo Weyand . Nachiket D Kashikar . Masahiro Naruse . Miriam Krähling . Astrid Müller . U Benjamin Kaupp . Timo Strünker . 2012 . The CatSper channel: a polymodal chemosensor in human sperm . The EMBO Journal . 31 . 1654–1665 . 10.1038/emboj.2012.30 . 7 . 22354039 . 3321208. See also ScienceMag article
  30. Web site: Poisonous plants: Lily of the valley. Ontario Poison Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children . 2015.
  31. https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/best-lily-of-the-valley-perfumes "Lily of the Valley Perfumes"
  32. Patty. "Best Lily of the Valley Perfume – Muguet Guide". Perfume Posse, April 8, 2013.
  33. Book: Turin. Luca. Sanchez. Tania. Perfumes: The Guide 2018. 2018. Perfüümista ÖÜ. Tallinn. 304. 978-9949-88-553-4.
  34. Web site: Substance Infocard: 7-hydroxycitronellal. European Chemicals Agency.
  35. Book: Morris. Edwin T.. Fragrance : A story of perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel. 1984. Scribners. New York. 978-0684181950.
  36. http://www.aboutflowersblog.com/lily-of-the-valley-stars-in-royal-bridal-bouquet/ Lily of the Valley Stars in Royal Bridal Bouquet
  37. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13235599 Balcony kisses seal royal wedding
  38. Web site: Lily of the Valley – May Day in France . 26 April 2010 . wordpress.com . 24 June 2015.
  39. Book: Coleman and Burley, Hilary and Sally. Shout Kernow. Francis Boutle Publishers. 2015. 978-1903427972. London. 53–55.
  40. Book: Weiss, RF . 1988 . Herbal Medicine . Ab Arcanum . 146–147 . 978-0906584194.
  41. Book: Stevenson, RL . 1886 . Kidnapped . Cassell and Company.
  42. Web site: Lily of the valley . flowers.org.uk . 24 June 2015.
  43. Web site: Lily of the Valley – Finland's National Flower . 28 May 2013 . wordpress.com . 24 June 2015.
  44. Web site: Wedding Traditions & Trivia . 2012-07-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120715035157/http://www.trailend.org/bel-traditions.htm#Say%20It%20With%20Flowers . 2012-07-15 . dead.
  45. See also Shoshanat HaAmakim village
  46. Web site: Lily of the valley | Search Online Etymology Dictionary.
  47. Keil, Gundolf. „Es hat vnser libe fraw gesprochen in dem puch der libe: ‚Ich pin ein plvm des tals vnd auch des grvnen waldes'": Die Einführung der Convallarin-Glykoside als Hinweis auf mährisch-schlesische Provenienz. In: Iva Kratochvilová, Lenka Vaňková (Hrsg.): Germanistik im Spiegel der Generationen. Festschrift Zdeněk Masařík. Opava/ Ostrava 2004, S. 72–132.
  48. Encyclopedia: Dunbar . Paul Laurence . Paul Laurence Dunbar . Lily of the Valley . Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow . 1905 . New York . Dodd, Mead & Company . 9–10 . 9781978194366 . 2022-07-15.
  49. Web site: Lilies of the Valley . Tchaikovsky Research . 2022-07-12 . 2022-07-16 .,. citing Book: Poznansky, Alexander . Tchaikovsky. The quest for the inner man . 1996 . 0028718852 . 336–7. Schirmer Books .
  50. Web site: Lilies-of-the-Valley, 1916 . Marc Chagall . 2022 . 2022-07-16. on display at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
  51. Web site: 'Breaking Bad' Face Off (TV Episode 2011) . Plot Summary . IMDb . 15 July 2022.
  52. News: 2022-09-13 . Queen Elizabeth II: Poet laureate Simon Armitage marks death of monarch . en-GB . BBC News . 2022-09-13.

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