Polygonatum sibiricum seed

LATIN NAME: Polygonatum sibiricum

COMMON NAME: Siberian Solomon’s Seal

The Siberian solomon’s seal is a handsome, arching, perennial herb of the woodlands, and its fine, broad, oval, smooth leaves and its small, pale-green or white, tubular, bell-shaped flowers hanging in small clusters beneath the arching stems, followed by the small, round, blue-black berries, have made it a treasured and fine plant of the shade garden. It grows as an arching, perennial herb, reaching up to one metre or so, with the fine, arching, unbranched stems bearing the alternate, broad, oval, pointed, smooth leaves and, through the late spring, the small, pale-green or white, tubular, bell-shaped flowers hanging in the small clusters beneath the stems, followed by the small, round, glossy, blue-black berries of the few seeds. It is a species of the flowering plant in the asparagus family, and it is native to the woodlands of the northern Asia, while it grows in the shaded, moist places, and it is known as the Siberian solomon’s seal.

In the asparagus family it is the graceful, arching member of the woodland flora, a plant whose bell-hung stems have long been a favourite of the shade garden.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The solomon’s seal is a familiar name in the studies of the traditional plant chemistry of the eastern Asia, and the Siberian species has been examined for the constituents of its fleshy roots, a line of work that has held the attention of the researchers across the world. The woodland botanists have mapped its place in the asparagus family and the shaded flora of the north, and the horticulturists have grown the arching, bell-flowered form for the shade garden. The plant is best kept as a subject of study rather than a casual home remedy, and the growers of the woodland border keep it in their catalogues for the graceful arch of the stems and the hanging bells.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the woodland shade, the Siberian solomon’s seal is the arching, quiet presence of the cool border. Its small, pale-green or white, bell-shaped flowers feed the bees of the late spring, its blue-black berries feed the birds, and the arching, leafy stems give the shaded border a gentle, generous structure. The roots carry the long record of traditional use in the region, and the plant asks only for the cool, moist, leafy ground of the shaded spot. Arching, bell-hung and shade-loving.

Tuck the seeds into a bag of damp leaf-mould and give them a spell of cold in the fridge, then sow them shallowly in pots of rich, leafy, moisture-holding soil, keep them cool and evenly damp in a shaded spot, and the first shoots will rise through the cool soil when they are ready, each one rising into the arching, bell-hung stem of the woodland border.