Miscellaneous Woodlanders

[Lori S.]

I bought it locally, though, unfortunately, I've never seen it again since.

[cohan]

I guess it must be rather adaptable, considering the comments on this site, combined with comments earlier in this thread:
Hylomecon vernalis Maxim.
 Hylomecon vernalis
Credit: Tatyana Shulkina
Plant with long rhizome, stems 20-30 cm during flowering. Basal leaves shortly petiolate, pinnate, stem leaves shortly petiolate, sessile, 10-15 cm x 10-15 cm. Flowering stem shorter than leaves. Flowers solitary, yellow, very large. V - early spring to early autumn, April-September in St. Petersburg. Fl - May-June for 2-3 weeks. Fr - early summer, June-July in St Petersburg. P - by seed and by division. Prefers a sunny place, does well in a semi-shaded position. Recommended for small group planting. Well suited to the rock garden. Cultivated in St. Petersburg Botanical Garden since 1870. Z 4 (3). New.
Far East (southern regions), northwesern China, northern Korea and Japan. In coniferous forests.
from:
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=120&taxon_id=220006651

[Hoy]

Looks very nice.  The Hylomecon foliage doesn't look like it would be very durable though, is that true?  How does it look by late summer?  Or is it ephemeral?

Here it stays green almost all summer depending on how dry it is. It spreads very slowly outwards but that is not a problem!
I have never seen seeds or found seedlings here. Maybe I have only one clone (plants bought on sale in fall). However I bought some new ones last year, hope they are another clone

[Lori S.]

If I recall correctly, they stay green through the summer here as well. 

[McDonough]

Hmmm, Hylomecon vernalis looks like a good one for my woodland gardens, will have to keep an eye out for this "forrest poppy".

Another aspect of plants that doesn't get much coverage photographically, is early spring plant emergence, except perhaps with a few genera known for their whimsical spring growth, such as Syneilesis, the Shredded Umbrella Plant.
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=252.0

Several years ago I bought a plant of the white-flowered form of Asarum caudatum, but it turned out to be the regular maroon color, but a nice ginger all the same.  Its early emergence is awesome to watch; from a network of above-surface blackish rhizomes, the swelling leaf buds appear as silvery blobs of crumpled tissue. At the stage where either true leaves start to emerge, or the brooding flowers are revealed, the growth points remind me of fortune cookies.  In the photo below, first row, on the right, ignore the little orangish-color seedlings, it's just those pesky Jeffersonia dubia seedlings that pop up all over the place

   

[Afloden]

Mark,

 I would suggest keying that in FNA. It looks like lemmonii or maybe even canadense. Caudatum should remain somewhat evergreen or tardily deciduous at least. Also the lobes of it should be far longer. I don't grow caudatum now, but I still have it in my parents yard.

 Canadense can vary from short to mid-range, and long calyx-lobe forms. These "forms" all had names and may get them again. I have seen all three in one population with no intermediates, differences in pubescence, and plant size.

 Aaron
 Knoxville, TN

[McDonough]

Mark,

 I would suggest keying that in FNA. It looks like lemmonii or maybe even canadense. Caudatum should remain somewhat evergreen or tardily deciduous at least. Also the lobes of it should be far longer. I don't grow caudatum now, but I still have it in my parents yard.

 Canadense can vary from short to mid-range, and long calyx-lobe forms. These "forms" all had names and may get them again. I have seen all three in one population with no intermediates, differences in pubescence, and plant size.

 Aaron
 Knoxville, TN

Aaron thanks for the suggestions, I will need to give it a closer look when in flower this spring, but after looking at the photos of lemmonii, canadense, and the FNA descriptions, I'm inclined to think it is A. canadense.  I see that caudatum has those extra long tail-like calyx lobes; and they look much shorter in the picture I show, similar to canadense, wasn't sure if the appendages become longer in more fully developed flowers. It seems A. lemmonii looks a bit different.

I dug through more images, and I post some general garden scenes where the fully expanded foliage of the Asarum can be seen, and here again, I think you're right with the A. canadense suggestion.

General garden view on the left, the red arrow points to the foliage of the subject Asarum.  Close-up of the foliage on the right.



On the left, garden scene with Epimedium, Trilliums, Primula kisoana, Syneilesis, and other woodlanders.
On the right, close-up of Trillium grandiflorum



On the left, is Epimedium grandiflorum var. coelestre 'Alpine Beauty', Trillium grandiflorum 'Roseum" behind, foliage of Jeffersonia dubia in upper right, and foliage of the subject Asarum in the lower right.
On the right, Primula kisoana, an Asarum self-sown seedling plant in the center (with shiny foliage), and a small division of Deinanthe bifida in the upper right.

[RickR]

Mark, that Deinanthe is super cool! 

Those deep teeth are just remarkable.  Hmm, reMARKable? I suppose you've heard that one before..
And where is the "bifida" in the leaves?  Would that make it D. cearulea?

[McDonough]

Mark, that Deinanthe is super cool! 

Those deep teeth are just remarkable.  Hmm, reMARKable? I suppose you've heard that one before..
And where is the "bifida" in the leaves?  Would that make it D. cearulea?

Now I'm more confused than ever, reminds me of the two species of Mukdenia exploration, or the two species of Kirengeshoma, which when researched, seems an overlapping muddle.  I've grown my white-flowered D. bifida from seed (most likely NARGS), and it does indeed have white flowers, so never questioned the identity.  I wish it were the more desirable blue-flowered D. caerulea.  But looking at images of both, I see wildly variable leaves on both species, how many are misidentified, I don't know, and to what degree is the variability reported.  Deinanthe caerulea is listed in FOC as having leaves with the apex entire or deeply 2-lobed with lobes 5-6 cm.

It should also be noted, that only some leaves, perhaps the most mature leaves in D. bifida, are in fact bifid, this can be seen in the Plant Delights Nursery photo that shows both types of leaves on D. bifida. The plant in my photo is a small division from my much larger plant, so might only be showing immature leaves.
http://www.plantdelights.com/Deinanthe-bifida-Perennial-Two-lobed-False-Hydrangea/productinfo/8105/

[cohan]

Nice woodland garden views, Mark. I have only tiny seedlings of Trillium, so far, and no Asarum yet.. hope to have more of both eventually!
I pay a lot of attention to emerging foliage in spring/early summer-- especially the earliest things, when we have been without greenery for so many months! I took a lot of photos last year, especially, I'll try to post some here, at a later time..

[Hoy]

I have been thinking lately that I probably have too many Rhododendrons in my garden! They are all winter green and it isn't much growing underneath their dense foliage. Where there are open patches however a kind of grass soon infest the available space.
I am looking forward to having "those pesky Jeffersonia dubia seedlings that pop up all over the place", Mark!

[Lis Allison]

Aaron thanks for the suggestions, I will need to give it a closer look when in flower this spring, but after looking at the photos of lemmonii, canadense, and the FNA descriptions, I'm inclined to think it is A. canadense. .....

The foliage in your last picture looks like A. canadense to me. The others do not. A. canadense leaves are quite heart-shaped, with a definite point. Also, the points on the flowers you show seem to be a little long for A. canadense, and the rhizomes do not look characteristic. I can't put my finger on it, but I have the feeling that A. canadense rhizomes are a lot smaller and shorter. Could your plants be a cross?

[McDonough]

The foliage in your last picture looks like A. canadense to me. The others do not. A. canadense leaves are quite heart-shaped, with a definite point. Also, the points on the flowers you show seem to be a little long for A. canadense, and the rhizomes do not look characteristic. I can't put my finger on it, but I have the feeling that A. canadense rhizomes are a lot smaller and shorter. Could your plants be a cross?

Possibly, but not sure.  I purchased the plant as Asarum caudatum 'Album', but it was mislabeled.  It's a misnomer that needs an identity.  Perhaps as you suggest, it is a hybrid?  I'm not very experienced with Asarum, but welcome the suggestions.

[Hoy]

The primulas are coming now!
This one, a P denticulata lookalike (I think it is from one of Chadwell's allocations) has a lot of farina on the early buds. The flowers open early down between the leaves but the scape elongates soon.

[AmyO]

The primulas are coming now!
This one, a P denticulata lookalike (I think it is from one of Chadwell's allocations) has a lot of farina on the early buds. The flowers open early down between the leaves but the scape elongates soon.

Super cool Trond! Mine are still a few weeks away from bloom, but with temps going up into the 50'sf all week perhaps I'll see flowers much sooner!