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Asparagaceae FAMILY

Maianthemum dilatatum

Maianthemum dilatatum

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Requires a cool shady moist but not wet position[1, 2]. Plants tolerate warm summers only if the soil remains moist[3]. A mat forming plant, it can be invasive in good conditions[3].

Propagation

Seed - best sown quite thinly it as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring. Stored seed should be sown in late winter in a cold frame, it might take 18 months to germinate. Allow the seedlings to grow on in the pot for their first year, giving liquid feeds as necessary to ensure that they do not go hungry. Divide the plants into individual pots once they have died down in late summer. Grow them on in pots for another year or more until large enough to plant out[PFAF]. Division as new growth commences in the spring. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Maianthemum+dilatatum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. — Hitchcock. C. L. · University of Washington Press · 1955 · ISBN - ↩︎A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  6. [6]Ethnobotany of Western Washington. — Gunther. E. · University of Washington Press · 1981 · ISBN 0-295-95258-X ↩︎A small book, it is a good guide to useful plants in Western N. America.
  7. [7]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  8. [8]Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples — Turner. N. J. · UBC Press. Vancouver. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7748-0533-1 ↩︎Excellent little handbook about the native food plants of Western Canada. Good descriptions of the plants and their uses with colour photos of most plants.
  9. [9]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎