False Solomon's Seal is an unbranched, herbaceous perennial wildflower in the asparagus family and native to the piedmont, mountains, and coastal plain of North Carolina. In nature, this shade-loving plant can be found growing in deciduous forests throughout the region. The foliage will die to the ground each fall, to emerge in the spring from its rhizomes. The tiny, fragrant, creamy white flowers appear at the stem ends in spring followed by berries which turn ruby red in summer. False Solomon's Seal does best in evenly moist, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. It will tolerate sandy or rocky soil. It does not do well during hot, humid summers in the southern states. Caution should be taken when attempting to transplant as the roots don't take well to being disturbed, particularly when the plant has yet to become established. This plant can form a large colony, however, it colonizes slowly by way of its thick rhizomes. Its common name of False Solomon's Seal comes from the resemblance of its foliage to the foliage of true Solomon's Seal. False Solomon's Seal flowers appear at the end of the arching stems. The flowers on True Solomon Seal are droop from the leaf axils along the stem and are bell-shaped. Both False Solomon's Seal and true Solomon's Seal may be found growing in the same areas. Native Americans used the root and leaves in the production of medicinal tea. They also ate the young shoots and processed roots Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
3-6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The 6 inch, pointed, light green leaves have conspicuous parallel veins.These leaves resemble the leaves of the true Solomon's Seal.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Panicle; Raceme
Flower shape
Star
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
The tiny, creamy white flowers blossom from April to June in North Carolina. They form at the stem ends. The flower cluster can contain up to 80 individual flowers. The tiny flowers are 1/4 inch wide and have 6 tepals.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Green; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
< 1 inch long
Fruit detail
The greenish fruits are available from August to October in North Carolina. They will turn a ruby red in summer, lasting into fall. The berries contain a few seeds that when eaten by birds and small mammals are spread into other areas.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Unbranched plant. The central stem is ascending, green to light green, slightly hairy, and sometimes zigzags.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America to Mexico
Distribution
All of the United States with the exception of Hawaii
Wildlife value
Birds, bees and small mammals enjoy the fruits as a food source. Attracts sweat bees, beetles, moths, flies, and other pollinating insects.
Attracts
Bees; Moths; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds