Clintonia borealis

Blue Bead Lily

Flora, fauna, earth, and sky...
The natural history of the northwoods

Name:

• Clintonia, after DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828), early naturalist and New York governor
• borealis, from the Greek, boreios (boreios), "from the quarter of the North wind, northern"
• Blue Bead Lily, from the round, bright blue fruit
• Other common names include Clintonia, Clinton's Lily, Corn Lily, Cow's Tongue, Yellow Beadlily, Yellow Bluebeadlily

Taxonomy:

• Kingdom Plantae
  • Division Magnoliophyta, the Angiosperms (flowering plants)
    • Class Liliopsida, the Monocotyledons
    • Subclass Liliidae, the Lilies
      • Order Liliales, the Lilies
        • Family Liliaceae, the Lilies
          • Genus Clintonia, the Bead Lilies
• Taxonomic Serial Number: 42903
• Also known as Dracaena borealis

Description:

• A rhizomatus perennial lily, 6 "-16"
• Leaves basal, 2 or 3.
• Flowers pale yellow, 3 to 8 on leafless stalk
• Fruit bright round porcelain blue; mildly poisonous to humans.

Identification:

• A ubiquitous northwoods herb of the forest floor.
• Field Marks
  • basal, parallel veined leaves
  • prominent blue berries

Distribution:

• Northern North America, south in mountains

Habitat:

• Open shade
• Moist sites in boreal and pine forest

Fire:

Associates:

• Trees: Black Spruce (Picea mariana), Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana), Red pine (Pinus resinosa) White Pine (Pinus strobus)
• Shrubs: Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), Twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
• Herbs: Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), Large Leaf Aster (Aster macrophyllus), Gold Thread (Coptis trifolia), Bedstraws (Galium ssp.), Oak Fern (Gymnocarpium dryopteris), Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), Bishop's Cap (Mitella nuda), One Flowered Pyrola (Moneses uniflora), Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum), One Sided Pyrola (Pyrola secunda), Rose Twisted Stalk (Streptopus rosea), Starflower (Trientalis borealis), Kidney Leaf Violet (Viola renifolia), Violets (Viola spp.)

History:

• Hunters said to have rubbed their traps with the roots because bears are attracted to the odor.

Uses:

• Young leaves said to taste like cucumber and are chopped and added to salads, or boiled for 10 minutes and served with butter and seasonings. Older leaves become bitter.

Reproduction:

• Reproduces by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes.
• Flowers May/June
• Fruit a bright blue berry

Propagation:

• By rhizome division.

Cultivation:

• Hardy to USDA Zone 3 (average minimum annual temperature -40ºF)
• Difficult to grow in the home garden.
• Not readily available commercially.

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