32. Polygonatum oppositifolium (Wallich) Royle CONVALLARIACEAE

This subtropical relative of the native European Solomon’s seal was discovered by Nathaniel Wallich on his expedition to Nepal in 1820 to 1821. It usually grows as an epiphyte on mossy tree trunks in oak forest at elevations of 1000 to 2000 metres. In Sikkim the young shoots are eaten as a vegetable.

Hand coloured engraving of Polygonatum oppositifolium by Joseph Swan from Hooker’s Exotic Botany 2: t. 125