Question

Which plant is described by these clues? Its genus name comes from a Latin term for a sheltered hollow enclosed among wooded hills, echoing the shaded ground where it thrives. Its species epithet is the Latin for the late-spring month in which its flowers open. Just two or three broad, parallel-veined leaves rise straight from the ground, sheathing the base of a separate leafless flower-stalk that springs from a creeping {rhizome}. Its flowers hang in a one-sided arching {raceme}, each a nodding bell about 0.3 inch (8 mm) wide of six {tepals} fused and flaring to reflexed tips. Its leaves are smooth and {glabrous}, yet crushing one releases no onion or garlic smell, the very test that separates it from an edible wild green it is deadly to confuse with. A low woodland perennial just 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) tall, it carpets shaded deciduous forest floors and edges across Europe and temperate Asia. After the flowers fade it sets small round {berries}, roughly 0.25 inch (6 to 7 mm) across, ripening to a tempting orange-red. Every part is dangerously toxic, loaded with cardiac glycosides that act straight on heart muscle, the same class of compound once used to steady failing hearts. Its bells are prized in perfumery for a sweet, green, penetrating scent that has become a benchmark floral note in the trade. A sprig of its arching, sweetly scented white bells is a traditional springtime good-luck token and a favourite in royal wedding bouquets.

Accepted Answer

Convallaria majalis

Name That Plant #019