~Faerie Flora~ Lily of The Valley Stories!~
⭒ ༘ 𓍊꒰ა𓆏໒꒱ 𓍊 ༘ ⭒ Side note ~ Hi everyone, sorry for being on hiatus for so long, school and homework has just been eating up my free time and I haven't had a moment to write another one of these Faerie Flora articles, anyway I hope you enjoy this one, and I'll try to write these when time permits me!
It's time to talk about Lily of The Valley! The small white flowers that look like tiny bells. Lily of the Valley go by several names such as May lily, May bells, muguet des bois (French name for the flower), our Lady's tears, Eve's tears, and Mary's tears. The scientific name for this flower is Convallaria majalis, the first part meaning valley and the second part meaning belong to Maia or May since May is it's flowering month. It is also one of May's birth flowers.
Lily of the Valleys are poisonous for humans, cats, and dogs (for those who don't know poisonous is if ingested, venomous is if bitten just to let you know). All parts of this flower are toxic but the seeds and flowers are the most toxic, because of their high concentration of cardenolides. Symptoms of poisoning are diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, excessive urination at night, confusion, depression, disorientation, drowsiness, fainting, headache, lethargy, weakness, cardiac arrythmia, high blood pressure, and high pulse rate. These flowers should not be ingested because of the cardiac glycosides. As little as two leaves could potentially be a fatal dose for children and pets. Children are often most poisoned by their berries. This plant if touched can cause a rash or skin irritation for some people. So best to wash your hands after handling this plant or wear gloves just in case.
The Lily of the Valley's other name "Our Lady's Tears"/"Mary's Tears" is said to have come because of the Virgin Mary's tears at the cross of Christ. It's also known as "Eve's Tears" as a Christian legend which says the flowers came when Eve left the Garden of Eden. The flower is mentioned in the Bible 15 times.
This flower has a few legends surrounding it. The Lily of the Valley is said if planted to protect gardens from evil spirits. It is also considered to be the flower of faeries who drink from it's tiny cups. In Celtic mythology, in the spring they were enchanted by this flower and saw it as a symbol for renewal and for happiness after long winter nights. In the Victorian era this flower symbolized a return to happiness.
The Lily of The Valley is native to cool temperate areas in the Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe, however the American Lily of the valley (convallaria majalis var. montana) is native to North America, specifically the Southern Appalachians. The Lily of the Valley habitat is mountain forests. Particularly, in rocky or sand dry woodlands or forests, usually under oaks in elevations from 700 to 1500 meters.
The Lily of The Valley spiritually means purity, joy, and luck.
