Formerly placed in the Lily family, this rhizomatous plant of shady woodlands has 2–3 foot tall, upright, arching stems lined with broad, oval leaves and dangling clusters of greenish-white tubular flowers. Note the unbranching,  leaves with prominent parallel veins, and flowers, often in pairs, dangling on short stalks below the leaf axils. Also called Giant, Great, and King Solomon’s Seal.

FLOWER: May–July. Pendent clusters of 1–3, whitish to greenish-yellow flowers dangle on straight (not bent) stalks; each tubular flower is 3/4–7/8 inch long (17–22 mm) with 6 small, pointed, spreading lobes. Fruit a blue-black to reddish berry, 1/2 inch diameter (8–12 mm), with low toxicity.

LEAVES: Alternate. Blades broadly elliptic to lance-shaped, 2–10 inches long (5–25 cm); base clasping to sessile (stalkless), tip pointed, margins entire; surfaces smooth with numerous parallel, light-colored veins.

HABITAT: Moist sandy, gravelly, humus soils of forests, steam sides; ponderosa-Douglas fir, spruce-fir-aspen forests.

ELEVATION: 5,500–10,600 feet.

RANGE: AZ, NM, TX; widespread in almost every state east of Rocky Mts.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Not to be confused with Star Solomon’s Seal, Maianthemum stellatum, and False Solomon’s Seal, Maianthemum racemosum, which have flowers on short stalks at the top of the stem.  Claspleaf Twistedstalk, Streptopus amplexifolius, also in high-elevation habitats, has single yellowish flowers that hang on stalks with an abrupt bend, and bright-red, oval fruit.

NM COUNTIES: Mountains of western and northern NM in moist habitats: Carton, Grant, Mora, Otero, San Miguel, Sierra, Taos.