Polygonatum multiflorum understory crop

 

 I've found Polygontum multiflorum (Common Solomon's Seal) is exceptionally tolerant of deep shade. Here it is growing with only a little dappled light in the understory of the New Zealand native tree Mahoe, Melicytus ramiflorus (very common in Wellington suburbs where native bush has been allowed to recover). It is possible there is slightly more indirect light available to this plant than in some dense Mahoe groves but you can see in the background nothing else is growing naturally nearby. This plant is also on a very steep slope, almost vertical. 

The young shoots are edible (1) with a pleasant taste. The shoots are available in spring, it is not a very productive crop, you'd need a lot of plants for a good feed. 

I tried eating the boiled rhizomes. They were of good size, about 4 cm wide, free of fibers, of good texture, with a delicious sweet earthy flavor, more like Jerusalem artichoke than anything I can think of. 

The rhizomes are also eaten raw (3) though at least some Polygonatum rhizomes, including those of  multiflorum (8) are reportedly toxic raw (2) due to calcium oxalate crystals, like taro. I did not cook the rhizomes for long and did not detect any irritation in the mouth, typical of calcium oxalates, at all. This species grows naturally across North America, Asia and Europe. Perhaps some strains, Himalayan for instance, are oxalate free since they are eaten raw there (3).

It is interesting that multiflorum is not included in Polygonatum reported eaten in China (6) perhaps it is not the best Polygonatum rhizome for food use. It is reported available in Chinese supermarkets in America, steamed and dried(9) presumably imported from China. At least sometimes it is cooked with gin (9), from the text I am not clear on why, perhaps for detoxification.  

There are reports they can be fibrous or even woody, if so this probably depends on age.

The only problem with them is I suspect they grow rather slowly, but I am not sure of growth rate.

Polygonatum multiflorum rhizome

 The rhizomes of many other shade loving Polygonatum species are eaten in China with little or no preparation (6). Some are sold in Chinese supermarkets and online, including those of Polygonatum odoratum, which is widely available as an ornamental in the West.

1. https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Polygonatum+multiflorum

2. Couplan F. The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America. Nature's Green Feast. 1998.

3. Wild edible plant resources of the Lobha Range of Kedarnath Forest Division (KDF), Garwhal Himalaya, India. Radha et al. International Journal of biological sciences V2(11)  2013

4. Moerman D.E. Native American Food Plants. An Ethnobotanical Dictionary. 2010.

5. Gibbons. E. & Tucker G. Euell Gibbons Handbook of Edible Wild Plants. 1979.

6. e.g., Ethnobotanical review of food uses of Polyonatum (Convallariaceae) in China Wujisguleng Wujisguleng, Yujing Liu, Chunlin Long Vol 81, No 4 (2012) > Wujisguleng

7. Wild Edible Plant Resources of  the Lobha Range of Kedarnath Forest Division (KFD), Garhwal Himalaya, India. Ballabha Radha et al. 2013.

8. file:///C:/Users/OEM/Downloads/latamaniuk,+art_06_Riznychuk.pdf 

ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE OF POLYGONATUM MILL. SPECIES IN THE PRECARPATHIAN REGION. NADIA RIZNYCHUK, VICTORIA GNIEZDILOVA

9. Food Plants of China. Shui-ying Hu. 2005.