Solomon's Seal

Polygonatum biflorum

Also known as Sealwort, True Solomon's Seal, King Solomon's Seal, Dropberry, Polygonatum commutatum

At a glance

Family

Asparagaceae (subfamily Nolinoideae, formerly classed in the lily family)

Type

Herbaceous woodland perennial

Parts used

Rhizome (root), with young shoots traditionally eaten as a spring vegetable

Size

1 to 3 feet, with gracefully arching, unbranched stems

Bloom

Small greenish-white, bell-shaped flowers dangling in pairs beneath the stem, April to June

Habitat

Rich, shaded deciduous woodlands and moist slopes across eastern and central North America

Acquisition

Grow or forage

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditionally eased bruises

Soothed sore, stiff joints

Used as a general tonic

Supported women's traditional health

Traditional uses

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Solomon's Seal has long been a quiet workhorse of the eastern woodland apothecary, its knobby rhizome dug in autumn and simmered into decoctions or mashed into poultices for bruises, sprains, and aching joints. Cherokee, Iroquois, and other Native American healers used root preparations for a wide range of complaints, including as a wash for wounds and a support for women's health, and early European settlers quickly adopted the plant under the old-world name Sealwort, applying it in much the same way their ancestors had used its Eurasian cousin. In lean seasons the starchy rhizome was also boiled and eaten like a root vegetable, and the young shoots were gathered in spring and cooked much like asparagus. It settled into folk medicine as a gentle, reliable helper for the everyday bumps and strains of rural life.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Comfrey
✦Arnica
✦Burdock root

Substitutes

✦Comfrey root
✦Black cohosh

Choose it when

“When old bruises and weary joints ask for the quiet mending of a woodland root.”

Did you know?

The plant earns its name from the round, seal-like scars left on the rhizome each year when the previous season's stem breaks away, marks that old herbalists thought resembled a wax seal and, by the doctrine of signatures, took as a sign the plant was meant to seal and mend wounds.

Safety

The berries are toxic and should never be eaten; only the rhizome is traditionally used. Before flowering, the leaves can be confused with true Lily of the Valley, which is dangerously toxic to the heart, so correct identification is essential.