(maianthemum dilatatum)
The False Lily Of The Valley plant is an erect perennial herb growing from slender, branching rhizomes. The flower stalk is glabrous and can grow to 25 cm tall. Extensive patches of single-leaved vegetative shoots propagated by the creeping rhizomes are common. The plant will fill out an area by rhizome propagation.
The leaves are up to 10 cm long. The flowers are bisexual, fragrant and up to 6 mm across and are in a terminal raceme of up to 25 flowers; the petals are white. Flowering occurs from late May to June.
The berries are up to 6 mm across and are green with a mottling of red when immature, becoming a deep translucent red when mature. The berries contain 1 to 2 seeds that are up to 3 mm across.
False Lily Of The Valley is a characteristic species of coniferous forests and is native to Vancouver Island and southern coastal BC. It occurs in most forest stands throughout the different regions of the area. This is a very common flower on the south coast, and you will see it almost everywhere.