Maianthemum amplexicaule
False Solomon's Seal
Convallariaceae (Mayflower family)
Whatever this is, there's something shifty about it. The common names include false Solomon's seal, feathery false Solomon's seal, false spikenard and false lily of the valley. That's a lot of denial.
Scientifically, it used to be Smilacina racemosa. FNA now calls it Maianthemum racemosum and puts it in Liliaceae (Lily family). ITIS also calls it Maianthemum racemosum, but puts it in Asparagaceae. Weber names it Maianthemum amplexicaule and puts it in Convallariaceae (Mayflower family), which he notes has been "recently segrated from Liliaceae." ITIS still lists Convallariaceae as a synonym for Asparagaceae.
As usual, we're going with the home team. Weber and Wittmann explain it this way:
"The FNA considers this to be a variety of M. racemosum, however, our species is diploid, while M. racemosum is tetraploid. Contrary to claims, these do not intergrade."
That's that.
The real name of the plant may be elusive, but M. amplexicaule is fairly easy to identify.
The inflorescence is shaped like a triangle at the top of the stem.
The plant has a lot of flowers - the FNA says up to 200. They look like the stars that decorated the signs for diners in the 1950s.
The flowers are in a panicle. They're white and a few mm wide. They each have 6 tepals; actually 3 sepals and 3 petals, but they're identical so botanists created a portmanteau.
Each flower has 6 stamens that stick out beyond the tepals. The anthers at the end of the stamens are yellowish.
The leaves are bright green and big. Up to 20 cm long and 8 cm wide. The shape ranges from a broad oval to a wide lanceolate. They're clasping and alternate along a stem that's straight to slightly curved and tips a little off vertical.
There's another Maianthemum in Colorado: M. stellatum, but they're usually easy to distinguish. M. stellatum has leaves that are narrower and come to more of a point and fewer flowers spread farther apart.