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Black Bead Lily Wikimedia Commons
Liliaceae

Black Bead Lily

Clintonia udensis

Forest secrets.

Family
Liliaceae
Genus
Clintonia
Native to
Eastern Asia, Japan, Russia
Bloom season
Spring, Summer
Type
herbaceous perennial
Height
0.5-1.5 ft
Sunlight
part shade to full shade
Soil
Moist, humus-rich, acidic soil
Water
moderate
Hardiness
3-7
Lifespan
perennial

Did you know

  • The glossy black berries that follow the flowers give this plant its common name.
  • The genus Clintonia was named after DeWitt Clinton, the governor of New York who championed the Erie Canal.
  • It spreads slowly by rhizomes, forming dense colonies on the floor of moist mountain forests.
  • The broad, glossy basal leaves are sometimes mistaken for wild lily-of-the-valley.
  • Black bead lily is an important understory species in the temperate forests of Japan and eastern Russia.

Color meanings

0

mystery

1

hidden beauty

Uses

  • woodland gardens
  • shade gardens
  • native plant collections