Flower:

Flowers are in groups of 2 to 10 on stalks that sprout from the leaf axils. Each bell-shaped flower is ½ to 1 inch long and pale yellowish green with 6 short, slightly flaring lobes. The flowers are usually hidden under the leaves and may go unseen.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are oval, toothless and hairless, 2 to 6 inches long and up to 3 inches wide with a pointed tip. The base of the leaf clasps the stem. Each leaf has several prominent parallel veins. The plant does not grow upright, but arcs as if top-heavy, and the hairless stem zig-zags some between the alternately attached leaves.

Fruit:

Each flower is replaced by a ¼ inch berry that ripens from green to blue-black in late summer.

Notes:

Just looking at the leaves, Smooth Solomon's Seal, False Solomon's Seal, and Starry False Solomon's Seal are all similar. Starry False Solomon's Seal prefers sunnier habitats and its leaves are more narrow and often fold up some lengthwise. The leaves of False Solomon's Seal do not clasp the stem. Both False Solomon's Seal and Starry False Solomon's Seal have a flower cluster at the top of the plant. Another similar species is Hairy Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum pubescens), which is mostly erect, has flowers not more than ½ inch long, and leaves that are hairy on the underside. Formerly in the Liliaceae (Lily) family, the Polygonatum species have been reassigned to Ruscaceae (Butcher's Broom).