CANADA MAY FLOWER, BLOOMING RIGHT ON TIME

CANADA MAY FLOWER

THE HERB GARDEN IS PLANTED

Thursday, 8:15 AM.  46 degrees F at the ferry dock, 47 on the back porch (seldom do the two thermometers agree this closely). Wind ENE, light with moderate gusts.  The sky is clear except for some haze in the east.  The humidly is 88% and the barometer is beginning to fall rapidly, now at 30.12".  We will get some rain tomorrow.
   I spent yesterday planting the rest of the herb garden and potting plants for the porches and decks.  Consequently I am moving about a bit slowly, but things are beginning to look nice, except that the lawns need to be mown and trimmed today.  It turned very warm yesterday afternoon and we ate supper on the porch for the first time this spring.
   Canada mayflower, AKA false lily-of-the-valley, Maianthemum canadense, in the Lily Family, is doing what it is supposed to do...blooming in May.  This diminutive understory perennial is native to sub-boreal forests  of Canada and the northern United States, and in the Appalachian Mountains as far south as Georgia.  The small, twin-leaved plants often form large mats under mixed deciduous/coniferous forest trees and shrubs.  The spikes of its tiny white flowers are followed by red-orange berries that are edible but I have never tried them (never ingest plant parts unless   you are absolutely sure of their edibility).  The berries were also used as an analgesic for headaches and sore throats, and as a diuretic, in Native American medicine.
   The common name "false lily-of-the-valley" is rather appropriate, since there is a considerable similarity in appearance and growth characteristics between the two species of the Lily Family.  The Latin genus name literally means "May flower," and the species name denotes its far northern geographic range.  This is a pleasant little plant that everyone should learn to recognize on their jaunts through the northern woodland.