The May birth flowers are lily of the valley and hawthorn. Lily of the valley is a low woodland plant with arching stems of small, sweet-scented white bells. Hawthorn is a thorny hedge tree that turns white or pink with blossom in May. By tradition lily of the valley stands for the return of happiness, and hawthorn for hope.
What is the birth flower for May?
May has two. Lily of the valley is the one most people know, but hawthorn has the longer record on birthday charts: a table of the months printed in the United States in 1913, in George Frederick Kunz's The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, gave May the hawthorn. No official body ever set the list, and modern charts keep both. Our guide to birth flowers by month covers all twelve months.
Enter a birth date below to see its flowers with the birthstone, the zodiac sign and the day of the week.
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Lily of the valley: what it looks like and when it blooms
Lily of the valley is Convallaria majalis. It is not a lily: NC State Extension places it in the asparagus family. It is native to Europe and Asia and has spread into the wild in North America from gardens.
- Size. A ground cover 6 to 10 inches tall (15 to 25 cm).
- Flower. Small, nodding, bell-shaped white flowers hung along one side of an arching stem, with a strong sweet scent. Pink forms exist.
- Season. Spring, peaking in May. Red berries can follow.
- Habit. It spreads by underground stems and can crowd out other plants in a shady bed.
Old names for it include May lily, May bells and Our Lady's tears.
Hawthorn: what it looks like and when it blooms
Hawthorn is the genus Crataegus, small thorny trees and shrubs in the rose family, the same family as apples and cherries. Hundreds of species grow across Europe, Asia and North America.
- In Britain. The common hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, is a native hedgerow tree up to 49 feet tall (15 m). The Woodland Trust notes that it is called the May tree after the month in which it flowers.
- In the United States. Native species include the Washington hawthorn of the Southeast, a tree of 25 to 30 feet (7.5 to 9 m). Hawthorn blossom has been the state flower of Missouri since 1923.
- Flower. Clusters of small, scented white flowers, sometimes pink or red, with five petals each.
- Fruit. Small red berries called haws ripen in fall.
"Haw" is an old word for hedge, so the name means "hedge thorn." In British speech the blossom itself is simply called "may."
What do the May birth flowers mean?
The meanings come from the Victorian language of flowers. Its dictionaries often disagreed, but on these two flowers they are unusually steady. The table gives Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers (London, 1884) beside the readings The Old Farmer's Almanac uses now.
| Flower | In Greenaway, 1884 | Common reading today |
|---|---|---|
| Lily of the valley | "Return of happiness" | Return of happiness, sweetness, humility, purity |
| Hawthorn | "Hope" | Hope |
Neither flower has a color code, since both are almost always white.
Customs fill in the picture:
- France. Lily of the valley is given on May 1 for good luck. The Almanac traces the habit to King Charles IX in the 1500s.
- Weddings. The flower's scent has made it a favorite for bridal bouquets.
- Finland. Lily of the valley is the national flower.
- May Day. Hawthorn branches were used for May Day garlands in Britain, and the blossom was said to mark the point where spring turns into summer.
- A superstition. Hawthorn blossom was not brought indoors. People believed that illness and death would follow.
- A proverb. "Cast ne'er a clout ere May is out" is a warning not to put away warm clothes too early. The Woodland Trust says it almost certainly refers to the hawthorn flowering, not to the end of the month.
All of this is tradition. It adds a story to a May birthday and says nothing about the person.
Is lily of the valley poisonous?
Yes. This is the most important fact on the page.
The ASPCA lists lily of the valley as toxic to dogs, cats and horses. It contains compounds that act on the heart. The signs are vomiting, an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, disorientation, seizures and coma. NC State Extension lists every part of the plant as poisonous to people as well: flowers, leaves, stems, roots and the red berries.
- Keep bouquets, pots and garden clumps away from pets and small children.
- Do not use the flowers on food or in drinks, even as decoration.
- Wash your hands after handling the plant.
- If a pet eats any of it, call a veterinarian at once. For a person, call a doctor or a poison control center.
Hawthorn is a different matter: the ASPCA lists it as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses. The thorns are the hazard. Hawthorn was long used in folk medicine, but that is history and not a reason to try it.
How to give May's birth flowers
- A small bunch. The stems are short, so use a small vase. Mention that it is poisonous if the household has pets or young children.
- A pot or pips. A pot of lily of the valley can go into a shady corner of the garden after flowering.
- A tree. For someone with a garden, a young hawthorn is a present that flowers every May.
- A drawing, print or tattoo design. Lily of the valley is drawn as one curved stem with a row of bells between broad leaves. Hawthorn is drawn as a thorny twig with small five-petaled flowers and lobed leaves.
- A keepsake. The row of bells is a familiar motif for jewelry, cards and stationery.
- With the stone. May's birthstone is emerald, and white bells among green leaves repeat its color. See our May birthstone page.
How to grow lily of the valley
Lily of the valley is easy to grow in the right place and hard to remove from the wrong one.
- Choose partial to full shade and moist soil rich in organic matter.
- Plant under shrubs or trees, where little else will grow.
- Mulch each fall.
- Divide crowded clumps in fall.
- Give it a bed of its own, because it spreads.
Cut stems last best in a clean vase with fresh water, kept in a cool room out of direct sun.
Next in the calendar: June's rose and honeysuckle. Before it: April's daisy and sweet pea.