Lily of the valley is native to Europe and Northeast Asia, and the plant has been naturalized on the North American continent. The medicinally useful material is imported from wild collections in Eastern Europe. In addition, lily of the valley is also a popular ground cover in the garden.
Lily of the valley as a medicinal plant
In herbal medicine, one uses primarily the aerial parts or the flowers of the plant. These are collected at flowering time and dried before use.
Lily of the Valley: Features of the plant
Lily of the valley is a small perennial plant. Underground are numerous roots and the rhizome, from each of which grow two elliptical, smooth-edged leaves.
The small, white, nodding flowers have the shape of bells and have a strong fragrance. Several flowers hang from each flower stalk, leaning to the same side. As fruits, lily of the valley bears small red berries that develop from the flowers in August.
Aids in artificial fertilization?
In recent years, lily of the valley has also made headlines in the context of artificial insemination. Researchers found that human sperm have olfactory receptors that respond to lily of the valley scent, which makes the sperm swim to the egg at twice the speed.
What do lilies of the valley smell like?
Lily of the valley herb, respectively, especially the flowers exude an intensely sweet, fragrant odor. Even Heinrich Heine knew that this scent “breaks the ice of winter and hearts”.
