Polygonatum biflorum melleum (Farw.) R.P.Ownbey (1944:399)
Smooth Solomon’s seal, Honey-flowered Solomon's-seal
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Polygonatum melleum Farw. in Rep. (Annual) Michigan Acad. Sci. 20: 170 (1918)
Conservation Status
Missing (NatureServe, 2026) or Extinct (Knapp et al., 2021; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 2025) or Invalid (synonym of P. biflorum) (FNA, 2002; POWO, 2024)
Last record: 1937 (Knapp et al., 2021; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 2025; NatureServe, 2026)
"Known only from collections made between 1900 and 1937, from three locations on the Michigan (two locations) and Ontario (one location) sides of Lake St. Clair, which lies between Lake Huron and Lake Erie just north of Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario."
(NatureServe, 2026)
Distribution & Habitat
Ontario, Canada & Michigan, USA
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Abbot, J. R., Campbell, C. S., Burgess, M. B., Cushman, K. R., Doucette, E. T. and Gilman, A. V. (2017). Rosaceae, the Rose Family. Online edition. R.F.C. Naczi, J.R. Abbott, and Collaborators, New Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, compiled in 2016, 2017. NYBG Press, New York.
Christenhusz, Maarten J. M. and Govaerts, Rafaël. (2024). Plant extinction in the Anthropocene. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boae045 [Appendix S1]
Fernald, M. L. (1950). Gray's manual of botany, eighth (centennial) edition. Corrected printing, 1970. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, N.Y. 1632 pp.
FNA (Flora of North America Editorial Committee). (2002). Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 26. Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxvi + 723 pp.
Gleason, H. A. and Cronquist, A. (1991). Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, second edition. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY.
Govaerts, R. H. A. (2011). World checklist of selected plant families published update Facilitated by the Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Kartesz, J. T. (1994). A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Knapp, Wesley M., Frances, Anne, Noss, Reed, Naczi, Robert F. C., Weakley, Alan, Gann, George D., Baldwin, Bruce G., Miller, James, McIntyre, Patrick, Mishler, Brent D., Moore, Gerry, Olmstead, Richard G., Strong, Anna, Kennedy, Kathryn, Heidel, Bonnie and Gluesenkamp, Daniel. (2021). Vascular plant extinction in the continental United States and Canada. Conservation Biology 35(1): 360-368. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13621 [Supporting Information (Appendix S1)]
Kost, M. A., Albert, D. A., Cohen, J. G., Slaughter, B. S., Schillo, R. K., Weber, C. R. and Chapman, K. A. (2007). Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp.
NatureServe. (2026). Polygonatum biflorum var. melleum: Honey-flowered Solomon's-seal. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed on 26 September 2026]
Ownbey, R. P. (1944). The Liliaceous Genus Polygonatum in North America. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 31(4): 373-413.
POWO. (2024). Plants of the World Online (online resource). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/ [Accessed 22 August 2024]
Utech, F. H. (2002). Polygonatum, pp. 210-212. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+, Flora of North America North of Mexico. 19+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 8.
Voss, E. G. (1972). Michigan flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part I. Gymnosperms and monocots. Cranbrook Institute of Science and Univ. Michigan Herbarium. Ann Arbor. 488 pp.
Voss, E. G. (1980). Michigan Flora. Part 1. Gymnosperms & Monocots. Bloomfield Hills, MI. 488 pp.
Voss, E. G. and Reznicek, A. A. (2012). Field Manual of Michigan Flora. Ann Arbor, MI. 990pp.