Smooth Solomon's-seal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Smooth Solomon's-seal |
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The Smooth Solomon's-seal (scientific name: Polygonatum biflorum) is a plant found in eastern and central North America. It is also known as great Solomon's-seal or just Solomon's seal. People say its underground stems, called rhizomes, have scars that look like the ancient seal of King Solomon. This plant is sometimes confused with Solomon's plume, which has flowers that stand upright instead of drooping.
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What Does Smooth Solomon's-Seal Look Like?
This plant has tall, straight stems that can be one to several feet long. Its leaves are simple, meaning they are not divided, and they grow one after another along the stem. The veins in the leaves run parallel to each other.
In May, you can see small, greenish-white flowers hanging down from the stems in clusters. Later in the year, these flowers turn into small blue berries. If you carefully dig up the plant, you might see the special scars on its underground rhizomes that give it the name "Solomon's Seal."
Why Is It Called Biflorum?
The scientific name biflorum comes from a Latin word, biflorus. This word means "having two flowers." Even though the name suggests two flowers, the plant often has more than two flowers in each cluster!
Polygonatum biflorum is now considered to include several other types of plants that were once thought to be separate species. For example, P. biflorum var. commutatum is now part of this main species.
How Have People Used Smooth Solomon's-Seal?
For a long time, Native Americans used the smooth Solomon's-seal plant. They ate the starchy rhizomes, which are like underground stems, as a food similar to potatoes. They would use them to make breads and soups. The young shoots of the plant are also edible. You can eat them raw or boil them, and they taste a bit like asparagus.
Smooth Solomon's-seal was also important in traditional herbal medicine. For example, the rhizome was used to make a special drink for problems like gout and rheumatism. This plant has been used for many different purposes in herbal medicine, including helping with swelling, calming people down, and as a general health tonic. Today, smooth Solomon's-seal is not grown on large farms for food or medicine.
See also
In Spanish: Polygonatum biflorum para niños
