In The Garden: Plant ID: LOTV in NB?

We're in South-eastern New Brunswick (zone 5a) and this week can we see thousands of these little shoots coming up all over our property.

My wife hopes they are Lily of The Valley plants!! Do these look familiar to anyone? (current height about 1-2 inches...)

 

Definitely Lily of the Valley.

 

I'm not so sure. Time will tell.

 

In a week or two the Lily of the Valley should start blooming.

 

I had wondered about the fuzzy appearance of the leaves and the appearance of the basal sheathing but I saw some flowering lily-of-the-valley at a plant sale yesterday and these features were the same as shown here.

 

We've got literally MILLIONS of these things... but I guess they are not LOTV ( at least not the classical "hanging bell flower" variety that I'm used to )

Here is a close look at the flowers...

 

Maianthemum canadense looks like a good match.
http://www.usanpn.org/Maianthemum_canadense

 

I believe it is Maianthemum.
Maybe Maianthemum canadensis.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1...92&start=18&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:18,i:131

 

Snap saltcedar!

 

Although I didn't recognize it at first I'm not surprised, especially since the quantity and extent of the shoots is greater than normal for a planting.

I have the local version here on my own place, and see it weekly at a friend's place.