BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Maianthemum stellatum | Starry Solomon's Seal 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Starry Solomon's seal is a rhizomatous perennial forb approximately 8 to
24 inches (20-60 cm) tall.  The stem is erect and the leaves are
alternate.  It has 5 to 10 white flowers in a terminal raceme.  The
fruits are glabose.  The roots of starry Solomon's seal are dimorphic.
A large root that grows straight downward occurs at the junction between
some segments; numerous small roots emanate in all directions from the
rhizome [1].

Plant part values for starry Solomon' seal from central Oregon are as
follows [1]:    

                                   Mean  (+ or - SE)
                                 -------------------
Rhizome length (m)                  8.06    (3.2)
No. aerial shoots                  21.00      (8)
No. leaves                        201.00     (63)
No. roots                       1,300.00    (500)
Max. root length (m)                0.25    (.03)
Max root depth (m)                  0.23    (.02)
No. of roots per 
 meter of rhizome                 168.00     (23)
Min. rhizome diameter (mm)          2.10    (0.1)
Max. rhizome diameter (mm)          3.90    (0.1)
Rhizome dry weight (g)             12.37    (4.6)
Root dry weight (g)                 2.66    (.86)
Leaf area (m 2)                     0.11    (.04)
Rhizome dry weight per     
 unit length (g/m)                  1.58    (.15)    
Max. leaf height (m)                0.18    (.01)

n=7                         



RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Starry Solomon's seal regenerates primarily through rhizomes.  Its
rhizomes grow rapidly and develop into long, complex systems.  Rhizome
plasticity after burial is moderate.  Following burial by volcanic
tephra from Mount St. Helens, Starry Solomon's seal was observed to
sprout from rhizomes upward through the ash [2].  The roots of starry
Solomon's seal steadily die-off so that the oldest rhizome segments have
few roots remaining [1].

Contents of starry Solomon's seal rhizome per meter length from the
Cascade Mountain Range, Oregon and Washington, are as follows [33]:

           Oven-dry    
            weight    water   energy   carbohydrates   N    P    K    shoots
             (g)       (g)     (kj)        (mg)       (mg) (mg) (mg)   (no.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smilacina    1.96      5.6     35.2         376        12   6    30     2.1
stellata

The rhizomes can produce aerial stems.  These are determinate, annual
shoots which normally bear seven to nine leaves and occasionally produce
flowers at the tip.  Aerial shoots are produced on both long and short
rhizome segments in most years [1].  In northern Idaho, aboveground
production was greater on grazed plots [1.44 pounds/acre (3.20 kg/ha)]
than on ungrazed plots [0.58 lbs/acre (1.30 kg/ha)] [32].

Seed:  No information concerning seed viability was found.  The probable
mode of dissemination is through fruit consumption by wildlife.
Pollination patterns indicate that larger starry Solomon's seal
inflorescences attract more insect visits than do small inflorescences.
This differential favoritism is considered to be a determining factor of
plant distribution when such uneven visitation activity persists from
year to year [23].

Morphological characteristics of starry Solomon's seal fruit from the
Rainbow Creek Research Natural Area, southeastern Washington, are as
follows [21]:

                                   Mean              Standard Error
                                   ----              --------------
Fruit Diameter (mm)                8.37                  0.12
Fruit Mass (mg)                  305.88                 13.63
Pulp Dry Mass (mg)                34.31                  1.43
No. of Seeds per Fruit             2.21                  0.11
Fresh Seed Mass per Fruit (mg)    40.51                  1.99
Fresh Pulp Mass (mg)               7.01                  0.22

n=100



SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Starry Solomon's seal is generally an indicator of moist environments;
however, it also occurs on rocky, well-drained sidehills and coastal
plains [4,9].  Tester [27] listed starry Solomon's seal as a true
prairie species.  Starry Solomon's seal is common in thickets and open
forests on gently sloping benches adjacent to streams.  It has also been
found as high as the lower subalpine zone on slopes ranging from 15 to
25 percent [13,31].  Elevational range of starry Solomon's seal is
generally from 4,400 to 8,700 feet (1341-2650 m).

Soil:  Starry Solomon's seal is usually found on shallow soils derived
from calcareous and noncalcareous parent materials.  Soil texture ranges
from gravelly loams to silt and sandy loams.  Soil acidity is often
neutral to acidic (average pH 5.9) [20,25,29,31].
  


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Faculatative Seral Species

Starry Solomon's seal is generally a seral herb species.  On dune sites
near Lake Michigan, it has remained dominant for more than a 1,000
years.  It is eventually replaced by false Solomon's seal on the oldest
dunes [18].  Starry Solomon's seal showed a variety of successional
responses to silvicultural treatments of western redcedar/western
hemlock (Thuja plicata/Tsuga heterophylla) stands in northern Idaho.  It
showed the highest coverage values within stands treated by shelterwood
methods compared to those receiving partial thinning, clearcut, or
selection harvest methods.  All stands had been treated by regenerative
or stand improvement methods between 5 and 25 years prior to sampling
[11].  Starry Solomon's seal showed a higher percent cover in climax
stands of Douglas-fir/ninebark (Physocarpus malvaceus) habitat types in
northern Idaho, than on burned, logged, or grazed sites of the same type
[4].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Shoots of starry Solomon's seal generally appear in late April, and
flowering occurs from late May through early June [23].

Related categories for Species: Maianthemum stellatum | Starry Solomon's Seal