Tokyo Food Safety Information Center » Good things to know » Poisonous plants easily mistaken for harmless ones » Convallaria majalis (Liliaceae)

Convallaria majalis (Liliaceae)

Perennial plant growing in the high mountains of Hokkaido and Tohoku Region is cultivated for garden use in all regions. In early summer it releases scape and grows a spiky flower with a fragrance and is also used as a perfume ingredient. Its fruit is round red berry.

Characteristics

Habitat	High mountains of Hokkaido and Tohoku Region. It is also cultivated in all regions.
Parts of the plant that may be ingested accidentally.	Leaves, flowers, etc.
Symptoms	Cardiac action
Venomous constituents	Whole plant contains convallatoxin, and a lot of it is especially in the flowers. Drinking the water in the vase with Convallaria majalis may lead to poisoning.

Convallaria majalis