Lily-of-the-valley

Taxonomic information

Common Name: Lily-of-the-valley

Latin Name: Convallaria majalis

Family: Liliaceae

Description

Lily-of-the-valley

Lily-of-the-valley is a distinctive plant with sweet scented white flowers which develop into red berries. All parts of the plant are toxic. The flowers have been used in scent for perfume and the rhizomes have medicinal properties similar to those of foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea). This species spreads by rhizomes in the soil. As a result, large groups of lily-of-the-valley can effectively be a single plant of considerable age – there are reports of clones which are more than 670 years old.

In the British Isles lily-of-the-valley has a scattered distribution across England, Wales and northwards to central Scotland, thriving on calcareous soils but also growing in some more acidic conditions. In addition, it is a common garden plant and has naturalised into the countryside in many places.

In the Yorkshire Dales National Park lily-of-the-valley is scare and is confined to areas with calcareous soils in the South and South-West of the National Park, where it can be seen in flower in May to June, in upland mixed ash woodlands and in the grykes of limestone pavement.