Polygonatum biflorum
Origin: Eastern North America
Improvement status: Wild
Seeds per packet: ~15
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
***Put seed in fridge immediately. Seed is wet/moist in small zip loc baggie. Or better yet, transplant into potting soil and then put in fridge. Keep moist. Pull out to room temperature in the April at some point.
Giant Solomon's seal is a graceful perennial plant native to the shady woodlands of the eastern and central United States, as well as sunnier woodland edges. The plants in this populatoin can grow to 4’ tall and sometimes 5’. They spread by rhizome, so one plant could become many shoots every spring within a few years. This was one of the first perennial plants EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman grew as a child in suburban Philadelphia (he had his own "shade garden" next to the driveway in the shadow of a big black locust tree).
A member of the lily family (watch out, deer love them!), Solomon's Seal have strong arching stems with nodding white flowers in early summer followed by deep blue berries — which are not edible. The flowers, buds, spring shoots, and underground rhizomes are all edible and delicious (especially the flowers). Nate has been munching on Solomon's Seal flowers since childhood, during which time he always referred to them by the now-obsolete — but really fun to say — former Latin name, Polygonatum canaliculatum. The various and diverse forms of this plant are now generally all known as Polygonatum biflorum. Besides being edible and delicious, and quite striking to look at, he plant has myriad medicinal uses as well, used in the treatment of gout and rheumatism, and as a sedative, anti-inflammatory, and general tonic.
GROWING TIPS: Seeds should not be allowed to dry out. Store in fridge and plant out as soon as the ground thaws in spring (or sooner in a mild climate). They will thrive with some shade, though not too much, and they enjoy average to rich soils. Hardy zones 3-8
