Polygonatum macropodum
(syn: Polygonatum umbellatum) Big foot Solomon’s seal (verified by non-grainy photos) is a superb Solomon’s seal for the woodland garden, hailing from 1,200′ to 4,500′ elevation in the forested provinces just north of Beijing. For us, Polygonatum macropodum makes a very attractive, symmetrical clump (5′ wide in 6 years) of 4′ long, dramatically-arching stems of medium-green leaves. In spring, the tight clusters of stems emerge from winter-dormant, knobby rhizomes and are clothed in 7″ long x 2″ wide, deeply-veined green leaves and further adorned in mid-May (NC) with long rows of small, white, clustered bells, attached just below the stems. In late summer and fall, the old flowers are replaced by blue fruit.
