Species (common name, Latin name)
       Starry False Solomon's Seal - Maianthemum stellatum


Range
       North to Alaska, South to California, East to New England



Climate, elevation
       Wet environments and on rocky well drained soils, generally found in elevations up to 8700 feet. Can be found on coastal plains, well-drained sidehills, and prairies.


Local occurrence (where, how common)



Habitat preferences
     Moist environments, rocky well drained hillsides. Also common in thickets and open forests on gently sloping hillsides adjacent to streams.


Plant strategy type/successional stage (stress-tolerator, competitor,
weedy/colonizer, seral, late successional)
     Moderately resistant to fire as rhizomes are below ground.


Associated species
     White spruce (Picea glauca), Black spruce (Picea mariana), aspens (Populus spp.), juneberries (Amelanchier spp.), willows (Salix spp.).


May be collected as: (seed, layered, divisions, etc.)
Seeds or divisions.


Collection restrictions or guidelines
     Cuttings should be done in mid June. Collect mature fruits when they turn red. Seeds are light tan at maturity. Seeds are cleaned by maceration using a Dybvig seed cleaner
at NRCS. Seed longevity is unknown. Seed dormancy is classified as deep morpho-physiological dormancy.


Seed germination (needs dormancy breaking?)
    Germination rates are higher in seeds exposed to cold during germination after a period of cold moist stratification between 5 and 12 months.


Seed life (can be stored, short shelf-life, long shelf-life)



Recommended seed storage conditions



Propagation recommendations (plant seeds, vegetative parts, cuttings, etc.)
By seed or rhizome cuttings. Rhizomes are far more effective as seed germination is slow. Rhizomes take 15 months to grow in an outdoor nursery growing facility. Rhizome cuttings were 20 cm in length and were taken in late June after flowering. Cuttings were placed in a heated vermiculite propagation bed for 1 year. The following spring, rhizomes had produced 3 leafy shoots per cutting on average. These were divided and potted into 800 ml containers and were root tight in 12 weeks.


Soil or medium requirements (inoculum necessary?)
     Growing media used is 6:1:1 milled spaghnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite with Osmocote controlled release fertilizer (13N:13P2O5:13K2O; 8 to 9 month release rate at 21C) and Micromax fertilizer (12%S, 0.1%B, 0.5%Cu, 12%Fe, 2.5%Mn, 0.05%Mo, 1%Zn) at the rate of 2 grams of Osmocote and 1 gram of Micromax per container.


Installation form (form, potential for successful outcomes, cost)
     Divisions were root tight in 800ml containers after 12 weeks.


Recommended planting density



Care requirements after installed (water weekly, water once etc.)
      Cuttings were irrigated after potting and placed in the shadehouse.


Normal rate of growth or spread; lifespan
      8 to 24 inches tall


Sources cited
       http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/herbs/maianthemumstel.html
       http://nativeplants.for.uidaho.edu/network/view.asp?protocol_id=123
       http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/maiste/all.html
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MAST4

       http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/pics_m/maianthemumstel_fl.jpg


Compiled by Jack Hebert - May 8 2006