Maianthemum racemosum aka false solomon's seal?? Doesn't appear to be growing as a vine in the picture.

Yes: false Solomon's seal.

Oh, cool!! So it belongs where it is! That's a cool thing... maybe I'll see some flowers on it soon...

A reader on Flickr (ID Please group) suggests: Streptopus amplexifolius (Clasping Twistedstalk) is native to North America. The plants grow in a creeping habit in moist, dense undergrowth.

That also fits this plant. I'll have to do some more research to clarify; hopefully it will flower soon, which will give me a valuable pointer!

flora_uk commented "Doesn't appear to be growing as a vine in the picture." Indeed, no reference that I've seen calls this a vine, but it *looks* like a vine to me... it grows as a single stem, crawling closely along the ground. It's true that it is not climbing anything, but frankly there isn't anything around it for it to climb - the Asparagus asparagoides that I compared it with does the same thing if it can't find anything to climb.

So, my question is: what do you see in those images that made you think "doesn't look like a vine to me" ?? I want to understand this so I don't make the same mistake in the future (since there are plenty of *other* mistakes that I can make instead!!).

Thank all of you for your IDs and insights!!

Your second photo shows a remaining few spent flowers at the ends of the stems. Their location indicates this is false Solomon's seal rather than true Solomon's seal (which has single flowers hanging under the leaves).

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=false+solomon%27s+seal&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

I'm not familiar with Streptopus amplexifolius, but apparently it too, like true Solomon's seal, bears bell-like flowers which hang under the leaves.

gorlash:

Your initial post asks the question:

"Does anyone recognize this vine,...".

With that said...

Maianthemum racemosus var. amplexicaule (Smilacina amplexicaule) has a large, branched inflorescence. I don't get that in your photos.

And as missingtheobvious states, this is not Streptous amplexifolius.

So I'm going with Maianthemum (Smilacina) stellata. it occurs throughout woodsy California.

Joe

Just for completeness, I took another shot of the (remains of) the inflorescense of one of the samples that I collected yesterday. Unfortunately, none of the plants were actually in flower when I was there, but I *did* end up accidentally collecting this:

remains of faded inflorescense

I think this supports the decision of M stellatum, though I have trouble (due to lack of experience) in envisioning what Smilacina amplexicaule would look like after the flowers had decayed.

I'm still confused about the initial question: why is this "obviously not a vine"?? It still looks like one to me!! I'm not arguing that it *is* a vine - I'm convinced now that it's not, but it still looks like one to me!! But I'm guessing that this is also a matter of experience, and I'll learn as I go along.

Not twining or clambering. Vines vine, like grape plants.

Gorlash, you ask 'What do you see in those images that made you think "doesn't look like a vine to me". Firstly, I did not write 'doesn't look like a vine to me.' Nor did I say 'obviously not a vine' I wrote 'doesn't appear to be GROWING as a vine to me.' There is a difference. I specifically mentioned the way the plant was growing - and it is not growing like a vine. OK, let me explain my thought processes. There appear to be single stems arising from the ground to a height of about 2 feet as far as I can judge. None of them looks much taller, thought the scale is not easy to acertain. Each stem arises separately and does not appear to produce a trailing length. As bboy says vines twine or clamber. They also scramble and there's plenty to scramble on in the photo if the plant had wanted to. There's a fallen branch there which a true climber would have found pretty quickly. A plant which flops a bit is not necessarily a vine - it's possibly just a floppy plant. And since this plant is a Liliaceous monocot which has clearly finished flowering it is probably on its way to dying down for the summer - even more reason to flop. I looked at the leaves which reminded me of Solomons Seal ie alternate, clear parallel veining of a monocot, texture pointing to Liliaceae, pointedly eliptical on arching stems and with fairly deep furrows. However the remains of the inflorescence are terminal rather than all along the stem. Therefore not Solomons Seal. I also checked images for your suggestion of Asparagus asparagoides, a plant I know only from its use in florestry. This has flowers all along the stems like Solomons seal, not terminally. It is also a stiffer bushy scrambling plant. I looked at the picture of the 'vine' in situ. I saw no large bushy tangles just the single knee high stems. Therefore I plumped for a tentative id of Maianthemum racemosum. Perhaps you noticed that I gave it two question marks? I was not saying I was right, just that I was fairly sure it was not the Asparagus, did not grow like a vine and was possibly a Maianthemum. gorlash, I generally try not to id things definitely unless I know them personally, ie not from books, but in the flesh. Sometimes I will make a suggestion for an id if it's a plant I've only seen once or twice or read about but then I will add a rider of some sort eg the ???. The fact that you did not recognise that this plant has clearly already flowered and that floppiness doth not a vine make implies you are in the early phase of your interest in plants so I hope that this explanation will be useful. After a while you will find that you do not go through this process methodically or even consciously. You will start to look at plants and 'just know' stuff eg what family they are likely to be in. Good luck and I hope plants bring you a lifetime of enjoyment as they have me.

Thank you, flora_uk !! Your detailed description of your analytical process is *extremely* informative to me! As you note, I am just in the beginning of learning to identify plants, and am really finding it interesting, I'm looking forward to many more years of practice. It has completely changed how I look at the world when I hike around here; I used to only see distinct features such as flowers, now I actually pay attention to the different plants; that is really cool!

And thanks for the detailed comments about what vines look like... indeed, I didn't comprehend much more than what I'd described, now I have a clearer understanding of the different structures.

I look forward to the time when *I* will be able to comment on groups like this, as well as asking questions!

Flora,
That reminds me of my favorite 'nit to pick'.
The post almost always starts....
Hi,
I saw this "Native" plant in the woods, what is it?

If you don't know what it is how the heck do
you know it's native? ;-)