Maianthemum canadense Desf.

Stem 5–20 cm; lvs (1)2(3), short-petioled to sessile, 3–10 cm, ovate to ovate-oblong, usually cordate at base; raceme erect, 2–5 cm; fls 4–6 mm wide; fr pale red, 3–4 mm thick; 2n=36. Moist woods; Lab. and Nf. to Mack., s. to Md., S.D., and in the mts. to Ky. and N.C. May, June. The common form in most of our range, extending w. to Minn., has the lvs glabrous beneath, entire or very minutely crenulate, the transverse veins usually developed; this is var. canadense. The chiefly more w. var. interius Fernald, which occasionally extends e. to O., w. N.Y., and even Mass., has the lvs hairy beneath and distinctly ciliate, with the transverse veins more obscure.

Deciduous and coniferous forests, persisting in forest remnants and parks; at elevations up to 1,800 metres. Woods and recent clearings, often to the sub-alpine zone, in humus-rich slightly acid soils.

Can be grown by seedlings.