What is Convallaria odorata Mill.? 



G. Claridge Druce 



In the Annals of Scottish Nat. Hist. 226. 1906, I suggested* 

 that the plant described by Miller in the Gardener's Dictionary Ed^ 

 8, no. 3, 1768, is the Convallaria Polygojiatitm L, Mr. James 

 Britten, however, dogmatically asserted that Miller*s specimerb 

 representing this species in the National Herbarium at South 

 Kensington is a form of Polygonatum multiflonnn. As there 

 was doubt about the identity, I unfortunately chose P, Sigillunr 

 (Lepech.) to represent Convallaria Polygonatum^ since British bot- 

 anists have not accepted Polygonaiiun Polygonatum^ the more 

 logical combination. 



The evidence, however, apart from the herbarium specimen,, 

 about the identity, of which nioreanon, in favor of Miller's plant 

 being C Polygonatum L. is very strong. 



Gerarde (Herball 758. 1597) first records it as British and he 

 calls it Sweete smelling Salomon's Seale : the Polygonatum i 

 \sic\ Clusii. That sort of Salomon's Seale with broad leaves- 

 groweth in certaine woods in Yorkshire called Clapdale woods^ 

 Johnson (Gerarde Emac. 904. 1633) corrects the reference to 

 Polygonatum 2 Clusii and replaces the poor figure by an unmis- 

 takable plate of C. Polygonatum L. Ray (Syn. 1690) calls it the 

 ' Sweet Smelling Solomon's Seal ' and he does so also in his Historia. 

 (i : 665. 1688), where he says •* flores . . . verum majores et 

 odore (qui in vulgari nullus est)." Linnaeus (Sp. PI. 451. 1762)- 

 under C Polygonaiiun quotes Bauhin (Pinax 303) for Polygomitum 

 laiifolium^fiore niajore odoro. Hudson (Flora Anglica 146. 1762}^ 

 gives the same reference and adds '* Sweet Lily-Convally or Solo- 

 mon's Seal." So that in Britain till the time of Miller the Sweet- 

 Smelling Solomon's Seal was the name given to the plant with 

 larger flowers, and angular stem — the C. Polygonatum L. There- 

 fore the presumptive evidence of Miller's C odorata being iden- 

 tical was very strong. His description in the Dictionary confirms- 



409. 



