Polygonatum biflorum
(Walter) Elliott · speciesAt a glance
Sources12 archives
Databases and archives Polygonatum biflorum's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation6 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility12 434 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI13 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics33 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Polygonatum biflorum (smooth Solomon's-seal, great Solomon's-seal, Solomon's seal). The plant is said to possess scars on the rhizome that resemble the ancient Hebrew seal of King Solomon. This is a species of the genus Polygonatum native to eastern and central North America. It is often confused with Solomon's plume which has upright flowers.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology5
Life cycle & reproduction8
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment7
Physiology & chemistry3
Compounds documented for Polygonatum biflorum across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile1 class
Documented compounds3 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (3E,5R,8S,11E,13R,16S)-5,13-dihydroxy-8,16-dimethyl-1,9-dioxacyclohexadeca-3,11-diene-2,10-dione | present | NPASS | |
| (5S,8R,13S,16R)-(-)-Pyrenophorol | present | NPASS | |
| Hadacidin | present | NPASS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Polygonatum biflorum has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Polygonatum biflorum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 204×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · eflora · CCDB · book-atlas-flowering-plants
2n 403×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-atlas-flowering-plants · CCDB · Cave1963
2n 181×CCDB · book-atlas-flowering-plants
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type12 434 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions94 of 148 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Madison, US | 323 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 291 |
| Philadelphia, US | 224 |
| Bloomington, US | 220 |
| St. Paul, US | 181 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 116 |
| Bangkok, TH | 88 |
| International Salmonella Centre (W.H.O.)location not on record | 79 |
| College Park, US | 67 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 65 |
| Williamsburg, US | 56 |
| Saint Louis, US | 53 |
| Knoxville, US | 48 |
| Chadron, US | 43 |
| Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record | 42 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 41 |
| DOI/NPS, Mississippi National River & Recreation Arealocation not on record | 40 |
| Allentown, US | 38 |
| Appalachian State Universitylocation not on record | 36 |
| Bronx, US | 30 |
| Tuscaloosa, US | 29 |
| Jackson, US | 26 |
| Toronto, CA | 25 |
| Chapel Hill, US | 24 |
| Columbia, US | 23 |
| BAYLUlocation not on record | 21 |
| Millersville, US | 21 |
| Dekalb, US | 20 |
| Whitewater, US | 20 |
| University of New Hampshirelocation not on record | 17 |
| Norfolk, US | 17 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 15 |
| Morgantown, US | 15 |
| Lord Fairfax Community Collegelocation not on record | 13 |
| Burlington, US | 13 |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanoogalocation not on record | 13 |
| Staten Island, US | 12 |
| Tampa, US | 11 |
| Lincoln, US | 11 |
| Green Bay, US | 11 |
| Johnson City, US | 11 |
| Fayetteville, US | 11 |
| Spearfish, US | 11 |
| Clemson, US | 11 |
| Mississippi State, US | 10 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 10 |
| Smithsonian Institutionlocation not on record | 9 |
| University of Wisconsinlocation not on record | 9 |
| GB | 9 |
| WINlocation not on record | 9 |
| San Angelo, US | 8 |
| McWane Science Centerlocation not on record | 8 |
| Asheville, US | 8 |
| Austin, US | 7 |
| DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record | 7 |
| DOI/NPS, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Traillocation not on record | 7 |
| China Agricultural Universitylocation not on record | 7 |
| Auckland, NZ | 7 |
| University of Winnipeglocation not on record | 7 |
| New Haven, US | 6 |
| AUAlocation not on record | 6 |
| Tennessee Technological Universitylocation not on record | 6 |
| Davenport, US | 6 |
| Flagstaff, US | 6 |
| University of Southern Mississippilocation not on record | 6 |
| US | 5 |
| Waverly, US | 5 |
| Valdosta State Universitylocation not on record | 5 |
| Richmond, US | 5 |
| US | 5 |
| Fort Worth, US | 5 |
| San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record | 5 |
| Provo, US | 5 |
| Université Lavallocation not on record | 5 |
| Lubbock, US | 4 |
| Dover, US | 4 |
| Kirksville, US | 4 |
| Chicago, US | 4 |
| Miami, US | 4 |
| Tempe, US | 4 |
| Durham, US | 4 |
| EL PASO, US | 3 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 3 |
| Acadia Universitylocation not on record | 3 |
| Tall Timbers Research Stationlocation not on record | 3 |
| Pittsburg, US | 3 |
| Emporia, US | 3 |
| Fairfax, US | 3 |
| Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preservelocation not on record | 3 |
| Black Rock Forest Consortiumlocation not on record | 3 |
| Henderson State Universitylocation not on record | 3 |
| Northridge, US | 3 |
| Fredericksburg, US | 3 |
| Conway, US | 3 |
| Macomb, US | 3 |
| Montréal, CA | 3 |
| Decorah, US | 2 |
| Keene State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| USFSlocation not on record | 2 |
| Dresden, DE | 2 |
| Jefferson City, US | 2 |
| Science Museum of Minnesotalocation not on record | 2 |
| Little Rock, US | 2 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 2 |
| Mount Berry, US | 2 |
| Albuquerque, US | 2 |
| Edmonton, CA | 2 |
| Pocatello, US | 2 |
| Nanjing, CN | 2 |
| Oswego, US | 2 |
| Montréal, CA | 1 |
| Philadelphia, US | 1 |
| West Virginia Wesleyan Collegelocation not on record | 1 |
| Mohonk Preservelocation not on record | 1 |
| Audubon Society -- Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Sanctuarylocation not on record | 1 |
| Ypsilanti, US | 1 |
| University of Guelph, OAC Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Gardenlocation not on record | 1 |
| Jurica-Suchy Nature Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Pullman, US | 1 |
| USP-IBlocation not on record | 1 |
| CASlocation not on record | 1 |
| New Brunswick, US | 1 |
| Conway, US | 1 |
| University of Central Missourilocation not on record | 1 |
| Paris, FR | 1 |
| Durham, US | 1 |
| Murray State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Karlsruhe, DE | 1 |
| Hudson, US | 1 |
| Washington, US | 1 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Québec, CA | 1 |
| Phoenix, US | 1 |
| Saint John, CA | 1 |
| State University of New York, College at Oneontalocation not on record | 1 |
| Western Carolina Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record | 1 |
| Tacoma, US | 1 |
| Bothell, US | 1 |
| Boise, US | 1 |
| Long Beach, US | 1 |
| Meguro Parasitological Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| San Diego, US | 1 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 1 |
| Durango, US | 1 |
| University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Wisconsinlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Polygonatum biflorum was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.