Plants terrestrial, to 12.5 cm. Rhizomes sympodial, cylindrical, units 30-40 cm × 8-14 mm, sometimes multiplied, roots scattered. Stems erect or arching, 7.5-12.5 dm × 7-9 mm. Leaves 7-12, sessile and clasping, or petiolate; blade elliptic to ovate, 9-17 × 5-8 cm; base rounded or tapered; apex acute or caudate. Inflorescences paniculate, 70-250-flowered, branches well developed, pyramidal. Flowers 3-merous; tepals inconspicuous, 0.5-1 × 0.5 mm; filaments 1 × 0.5 mm; anthers 0.5-1 mm; ovary globose, 1 mm wide; style 0.1-0.3 mm; stigma obscure; pedicel 0.5-1 × 0.5 mm. Berries green with copper spots when young, maturing to deep translucent red, globose or 3-lobed, 4-6 mm wide. Seeds 1-4, globose, 2.5-4 mm. 2n = 36, 72, 144. Maianthemum racemosum is sometimes cultivated. It was described as apomictic (A. L. Gorham 1953) but is much in need of cytogeographic and reproductive biological studies.
Stem usually curved-ascending, 4-8 dm, finely hairy; lvs spreading horizontally in 2 ranks, elliptic, 7-15 נ2-7 cm, obtuse or rounded at base, short-acuminate, finely hairy beneath; panicle pedunculate or rarely sessile, 3-15 cm; fls very numerous, short-pediceled, 2-5 mm wide; fr red, dotted with purple; 2n=36, 72, 144. Rich woods; N.S. to B.C., s. to Ga. and Ariz. May, June. (Maianthemum r.; Vagnera r.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.