Canada Mayflower

Canada Mayflower
Maianthemum canadense

Just to prove that nothing is simple when attempting to classify nature, this plant is in the Lily family, but only has 2 petals, 2 sepals, and 4 stamens rather than the usual Lily pattern of 3-3-6.  This brings up a general question that I have, can nature really be classified, or are all individuals merely an instance of the evolutionary continuum?

It seems that no matter how the taxonomy is organized, there are always difficulties distinguishing one taxon from another.  In my experience, it seems that the number of species in a genus is directly proportional to the amount of time spent by a taxonomist studying the genus!  It has gotten to the point where they are using DNA to classify species, and even with that, it's still up in the air.

It sure would be nice if things were cut and dry, i.e. a lion is a lion and a tiger is a tiger, however, there have been as many as 26 lion subspecies described, pared to 11 by 2005, and down to 2 in 2017, and there is still much debate going on about the number of tiger species, subspecies, clades, etc.

So, I suppose this plant is in the Lily family until it is decided otherwise.  I'm sure the Mayflower knows who it is.

This small plant of rich woodlands typically has two leaves and a raceme of starry flowers.

This rhizomatous plant also sends up infertile shoots, which consist of one leaf.