Archive for the ‘Moisture Lover’ Category

Claytonia lanceolata – SPRING BEAUTY, MOUNTAIN POTATO

Posted in Full Sun, Moisture Lover, Perennial, Pink, Plant Portraits, Spring, Summer, White, tagged , , , , , on November 4, 2015| 1 Comment »

Claytonia lanceolata Spring Beauty Wells B.C. Image: HFN

Claytonia lanceolata – Spring Beauty. West of Wells B.C., May 20, 2015. Image: HFN

Perennial. Zone 1. Montiaceae – Montia Family – formerly Portulacaceae. Native to western North America, widely occuring in subalpine and alpine meadows from the lower half of British Columbia south to New Mexico. The generic name Claytonia is after 17th century English botanist John Clayton, who collected plants in North America. Lanceolata refers to the shape of the rather fleshy, lance-shaped, paired leaves. Also known as INDIAN POTATO or MOUNTAIN POTATO, for its importance as a First Nations food crop.

British Columbia is a place of astonishing biodiversity, and one of the most fascinating aspects of this botanical richness is just how many of our native plants were foraged for and cultivated by the local indigenous peoples. Claytonia lanceolata, abundant in certain areas of the Cariboo-Chilcotin (in particular in the Potato Mountain range near Tatlayoko Lake on the Chilcotin Plateau) is perhaps one of the most important examples.

In earliest spring, as the snow recedes, smooth, lance-shaped leaves emerge from the mountain meadow turf, and Spring Beauty sends up its slender 6-inch bloom stems, topped by clusters of delicate 5-petalled flowers, purest white to ethereal pink. These bloom with such abundance as to turn whole areas white, mimicking the just-vanished snow.

Claytonia lanceolata in a wet meadow, near WElls, B.C. May 20, 2015. Image: HFN

Claytonia lanceolata in a wet meadow, near Wells, B.C. May 20, 2015. Image: HFN

Aesthetically beautiful, to be sure, but the plant is more than just another pretty wildflower, for it sprouts from a sturdy bulb, high in starches and sugars, and local inhabitants, human and ursine, found these to be worthy of foraging as the flowers faded and the bulbs reached their peak in energy storage to prepare for summer dormancy.

Wild food foragers value these greatly. Xavier de la Foret shares the following on the Sustainable Living Project blog:

Spring beauties (Claytonia lanceolata) are a delight to the eyes, both from generous carpets in sunny meadows and single flowers up close. The above-ground parts are edible and great in salads. They can also be cooked but I find that they become quite slimy that way. I definitely prefer them raw. But their greatest treasures rest under the ground and fairly close to the surface at that. They have a corm resembling the appearance and taste of small round potatoes and they’re absolutely delicious.

To find the largest corms, look closely at the thickness and number of stems emerging from a single spot on the ground. In general, if the plant has at least 4 thick stems, or a least 10 thin stems, then the corm has a good chance of being large. Don’t bother digging up the smaller plants as these are best left to grow for subsequent years!

Cook the corms as you would a potato. They also dry very well if you cut them in half while raw or if you mash them and dry them as thin patties after cooking them. Alternately, you can store them in earthen pits or buckets full of dirt to keep them fresh.

This plant is a moisture lover, and flourishes in the acidic soils of snow-water seepages in higher elevation meadows throughout our region. An easy-to-access population flourishes beside the road to Wells and Barkerville, east of Quesnel, where sharp-eyed botanists will catch sight of intriguing flushes of low-growing white bloom in May.

Though the species is yellow-listed in B.C., as stable and not in danger of extirpation, casual observers should not disturb the wild populations, enjoying them instead for their beauty. However, grizzly bears are under no such injunctions, and they will forage the bulbs with great enthusiasm, which gives further credence to their reputed delectability as a food source.

Bulbs are generally quite small, 1 or 2 inches in diameter, but I have read ethnobotanical accounts of the Claytonia lanceolata habitats of the Potato Mountains being subjected to controlled burning in the fall, to decrease shrub and competitive plant growth. In those cases, bulbs as large as a person’s fist were reported to occur.

The bulbs are very close to the surface, and are easily harvested. They sometimes grow in conjunction with another lovely ephemeral, the Avalance or Glacier Lily, Erythronium grandiflorum, which was also harvested for its sweet roots. Large quantities of Claytonia bulbs were collected during foraging trips, and were then eaten right away, or processed by cooking and drying, or stored in raw form in deep pits for future winter consumption.

This is not a plant I would recommend for inclusion in a cultivated garden, though if you live in an area such as Wells where the plants naturally occur, and if your property includes a wet spot, you might find it interesting to develop a wild garden featuring Claytonia and other native species, such as the dwarf white Trollius laxus, yellow Viola glabella, and the white-flowered Rhododendron albiflorum. Or just enjoy them all in the wild; a great excuse for a spring ramble. (Watch out for those bears!)

Claytonia lanceolata Image: HFN

Claytonia lanceolata. Pink-tipped stamens await a visit by the first foraging pollinators. Image: HFN

Claytonia laceolata, getting its pretty feet wet. Wells, May 20, 2015. Image: HFN

Claytonia lanceolata, happily getting its roots wet. Near Wells, B.C., May 20, 2015. Image: HFN

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Petasites sagittatus – ARROW-LEAVED COLTSFOOT

Posted in Moisture Lover, Perennial, Plant Portraits, Spring, White, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2014|

 

Petasites sagittatus (syn. frigidus var. sagittatus) - Arrow-Leaf Coltsfoot, in roadside swamp, Gibraltar Mine Road, McLeese Lake, B.C. - June 9, 2014.

Petasites sagittatus (syn. P. frigidus var. sagittatus) – Arrow-Leaved Coltsfoot, in roadside swamp, Gibraltar Mine Road, McLeese Lake, B.C. – June 9, 2014. In full seedhead development, which is the plant’s most conspicuous stage. The pure white “fluffs”, on foot-high (or taller) stems, are extremely eye-catching. These quickly disperse, leaving only the broad leaves as evidence of the plant’s presence. Image: HFN

Perennial. Zone 2. Asteraceae. (Syn. Compositae.) Widespread through Northern North America, Alaska to Labrador. Found in wet seepages, swampy lake margins, and boggy meadows.

“I’ve seen a plant that I think you should look at,” reported Edwin the other day. “It’s got pure white flowers on tall stems, and it’s growing in the swamp on the Gibraltar Mine hill, just where the great blue heron hangs out.”

Well, that was like catnip to a cat, and off we went, camera at the ready. “What could it be?” I pondered, with dreams of finding something exotic. But as soon as we got close, the identification was immediate. It was the rather spectacular seed stage of yet another Coltsfoot.

This is decidedly the most noticeable Coltsfoot – Petasites –  in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, with its large (up to a foot long) arrowhead shaped leaves, green on the surface, and felted white underneath.

Leaves are large, thickly textured, and entire, with sharply toothed margins. The leaf surfaces are quite smooth, but the undersides are thickly coated with tiny, silky white hairs, making for an interesting contrast.

Leaves are large, thickly textured, and entire, with sharply toothed margins. The leaf surfaces are quite smooth, but the undersides are thickly coated with tiny, silky white hairs, making for an interesting contrast. Near McLeese Lake, June 9, 2014. Image: HFN

Petasites sagittatus has a creeping rootstalk, with flower stalks rising from it some distance away from the leaves. The flower stalks emerge in early spring, well before the leaves, and are thick, conspicuously bracted, and topped by clusters of typically Composite Family flowers, consisting of many disc flowers and surrounding ray flowers. Flowers range in shade from a slightly greyish white to faintly pink.

The seedheads are tall, up to 18 inches, and display cotton-ball white clusters of long-haired achenes, which soon disperse on the wind.

June 9, 2014 - Almost ready to fly away...

June 9, 2014 – Almost ready to fly away… Image: HFN

...and there they go.

…and there they go. Image: HFN

This species will sometimes overlap with the other regional Petasites, P. frigidus var. nivalis and P. frigidus var. palmatus, and hybrids showing a mixture of traits may result, but in general this is the easiest of the Coltsfoots to positively identify.

This plant will happily naturalize in a cultivated bog garden, though its vigorous nature and substantial size should be taken into consideration before introducing it.

First Nations’ uses of all of the Coltsfoots included use as an early spring green (cooked), and as a salt substitute (the leaves were burned, leaving a salty residue), and medicinally for chest and stomach ailments. These uses duly noted, it is not recommended that one experiment with consuming or self-medicating with any of the Petasites, as they all contain potentially harmful, liver-damaging alkaloids.

A handsome and unique genus.

One last look - June 9, 2014.

One last look – June 9, 2014. Image: HFN

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Petasites frigidus var. palmatus – PALMATE COLTSFOOT

Posted in Moisture Lover, Perennial, Plant Portraits, Spring, White, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2014|

Palmate Coltsfoot - Petasites frigidus var. palmatus - Van Dusen Garden, Vancouver, B.C. - April 8, 2014.

Palmate Coltsfoot – Petasites frigidus var. palmatus – Van Dusen Garden, Vancouver, B.C. – April 8, 2014. Image: HFN

 

Perennial. Zone 2. Asteraceae. (Syn. Compositae.) Widespread through Western North America. Common to wet coniferous forest and subalpine regions of B.C. A.k.a. Arctic Sweet Coltsfoot.

Lewis J. Clark, in Wild Flowers of British Columbia, 1973:

Petasites derives from the Greek petasos, a broad-rimmed hat, which describes the wide basal leaves. Palmatus (is) from the large hand-shaped leaves…

Most Composites bloom late in the year, but the Colt’s Foot pushes its thick stem through the ground at the beginning of March, sometimes while snow still lingers. Soon the rapidly lengthening shoot displays a heavy, flattened cluster of purplish (sometimes white, rarely yellow) flower-heads. These are of two kinds, the staminate soon withering. The pistillate-heads usually have a few short ray-florets. By early summer they are succeeded by clusters of achenes whose radiating pappus recall a very large, but flattened, Dandelion “puff”.

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Petasites frigidus var. palmatus – close-up of pistillate heads. Image: HFN

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Palmate Coltsfoot – Van Dusen Garden – April 8, 2014. Image: HFN

This species is very similar to Sweet Coltsfoot, Petasites frigidus var. nivalis, and as the ranges overlap, hybridization often occurs, making positive identification something of a challenge.

No matter what the details of nomenclature, the native Petasites found throughout the Cariboo are quietly spectacular in a low-growing, botanically interesting sort of way, being among the earliest bloomers and a sign of the start of the brief but intense growing season proper.

These plants happily grow in the garden, being most suited to moist wild gardens and boggy areas. They do spread vigorously where happy via underground rhizomes, so that is something to keep in mind when siting.

Coltsfoot is reported to be attractive to early foraging bees and other pollinating insects.

Ethnobotanical uses of Palmate Coltsfoot (and its relations) include flowering stalks and young leaves being used as an early “potherb”, no doubt highly welcome after a long winter of no fresh greens. According to the field guide Plants of Northern British Columbia (MacKinnon, Pojar and Coupé, 1992), Petasites leaves were used to cover berries in steam-cooking pits. Medicinal uses were widespread, with decoctions used to treat chest and respiratory ailments, as well as externally applied to treat rheumatism.

An interesting use which I have seen referred to in several places is the value of the plant as a salt substitute, either as an addition to stews, or from the ashes of the burned leaves.

As with any medicinal or culinary use of plants, it is best to be cautious about consuming or applying anything one is not familiar with; the above uses are provided merely as historical notes and not recommendations or suggestions. Petasites species contain alkaloids which may cause liver damage when ingested.

Palmate Coltsfoot at UBC Botanical Garden, April 8, 2014. This population shows the rosy colour variation.

Palmate Coltsfoot at UBC Botanical Garden, April 8, 2014. This population shows the rosy colour variation. Image: HFN

Newly emerging foliage in the background - notice the "palmate" form of the "hand-like" leaves. UBC Botanical Garden, April 8, 2014.

Newly emerging foliage in the background – notice the “palmate” form of the “hand-like” leaves. UBC Botanical Garden, April 8, 2014. Image: HFN

Close-up of flower cluster. UBC Botanical Garden, April 8, 2014.

Close-up of flower cluster. UBC Botanical Garden, April 8, 2014. Image: HFN

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Petasites frigidus var. nivalis – SWEET COLTSFOOT

Posted in Moisture Lover, Perennial, Plant Portraits, Spring, tagged , , , , , on May 10, 2014|

Sweet Coltsfoot - Petasites frigidus var. nivalis - near Tyee Lake, B.C., May 9, 2014.

Sweet Coltsfoot – Petasites frigidus var. nivalis – near Tyee Lake, B.C., May 9, 2014. Image: HFN

Perennial. Zone 2. Asteraceae. (Syn. Compositae.) Widespread through Western North America. Common to wet coniferous forest and subalpine regions of B.C. A.k.a. Alpine Coltsfoot, Arctic Butterbur.

With the departure of the last of the sodden winter snow and the first faint flush of green as plants awake from their long dormancy, the sudden appearance of the exotic-looking coltsfoot bloom stems is a welcome surprise to the keen native plant gardener or roving botanist.

Thick, fleshy stems appear, lined with bract-like leaves and topped by clusters of densely packed disc flowers. Plants are either male, with all disk flowers, or female, with ray as well as disk flowers, as in the photo above. This plant’s membership in the Composite Family (think sunflowers, Helianthus annuus, as the poster child of the composites with well-differentiated ray and disk flowers in a single head) is very obvious once one takes a close look at the flower structure, and especially when the feathery, dandelion-like seeds start to mature.

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Image: HFN

Blooms are most frequently white, but can be shades of pink, and occasionally a deep ivory-yellow.

Leaves appear a few weeks after the bloom stems, and as they often arise at some distance from the flowers due to the plant’s extended underground rhizomatous root system they are often  not associated with the flowers. Many of the Petasites have massive foliage – the leaves of the vigorous Japanese Butterbur, Petasites japonicus, easily reaching 2 feet across, and those of another common British Columbia species, P. palmatus, often reaching a foot wide – but P. frigidus var. nivalis is a more modest creature, with glossy, deeply wrinkled, raggedly toothed, grape-like leaves only 6 to 8 inches across.

The common name “coltsfoot” arise, according to Lewis J. Clark, from the appearance of the leaves, rather than the flowers:

Soon after the appearance of the flowering stems, stout leaf-shoots emerge. They are folded in an extraordinary manner, with the hairy lobes reflexed, at an early stage evoking the metaphor of the little foot of a colt.

Sweet Coltsfoot is often found in wet locations, thriving in boggy areas and on stream and lake edges. It is something of a spreader, forming thriving colonies where happy, and is occasionally seen as a happily domesticated “tamed wildflower” in bog and woodland gardens.

Typical habitat of Petasites frigidus var. nivalis, along a boggy lakeshore.

Typical habitat of Petasites frigidus var. nivalis, along a boggy lakeshore. Image: HFN

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Centaurea montana – PERENNIAL CORNFLOWER, MOUNTAIN BLUET

Posted in Blue, Full Sun, Mid Height, Moisture Lover, Perennial, Summer, tagged , , , , , on April 18, 2014|

Perennial Cornflower blooming in late May, 2014 around the ruined foundation of an old ranch house near Roberts Lake.

Centaurea montana – Perennial Cornflower blooming in late May, 2014 around the ruined foundation of an old ranch house near Roberts Lake, northeast of Williams Lake, B.C. Obviously a relic of a one-time cherished garden, for nestled in the grass growing over the tumbled foundation stones we also found creeping sedums and a solitary Dianthus deltoides (Maiden Pink), as well as the ubiquitous rhubarb plants and a few straggly lilacs. Image: HFN

Perennial. Zone 2.  Asteraceae. Europe, “from the Ardennes in Belgium south to the Pyrenees in Spain and east to Poland and Yugoslavia, growing in subalpine meadows and open woods, flowering in May-July”, according to the reliable Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix, in their two-volume masterwork, The Random House Book of Perennials.

This is a clump former which spreads to 2 feet or so in diameter where happy, depending on stoloniferous underground stems to slowly expand its girth every year. Though not exactly shy about advancing on its garden neighbours, it is easy to keep in check in the garden by some judicious trowel work in the spring.

Deep green, silky-haired, broadly lanceolate leaves alternate up the multiple sturdy stems, which are topped by numerous black-bracted buds. These open into large, electric blue cornflowers in late May, and continue well into July.

Some years the plants may “bird’s nest” in heavy rainfall. If this happens, ruthlessly shear the whole plant back to 6 inches or so, and tactfully ignore it for a week or two; it will quickly recover and regrow into a much more tidy clump, and will usually rebloom later in the season.

An excellent bee plant and attractive to numerous species of butterflies.

Esteemed Ontario gardener Patrick Lima, in his 1987 book The Harrowsmith Perennial Garden, has this to say about the Mountain Bluet:

Early in June…and for almost a month, 2½ foot stems rise up, carrying the many dark blue thin-petalled blossoms that always remind me of little jets of flame.

Perennial cornflowers look best set in groups of three or more – a single plant makes little show – just back of front [in the border] in company with poppies, irises of any colour, dianthus and the like…They might be left out of smaller garden in favour of something showier…but are a good choice for next-to-no-maintenance flowerbeds that could include Siberian irises and daylilies.

Although they are not spectacular, perennial cornflowers are practically indestructible; A. Clutton-Brock says in Studies in Gardening (1916) that if the hardy cornflower “were not so easy, it would be prized, and it deserves to be more prized for its easiness.”

There is a white mutation of the common blue variety, ‘Alba’, which is very pretty, and a number of recent hybrids, of which the purple-centered, white-petalled ‘Amethyst in Snow’ shows great promise in my garden. There is also a golden-leaved, blue-flowered form, ‘Gold Bullion’, which looks rather interesting. These last two are patented hybrids from the venerable Blooms of Bressingham in England, and are often found in the “premium perennials” section of our better nurseries. (Try Richbar Nursery in Quesnel, and Art Knapp’s in Prince George.)

Flower bud detail showing the distinctive bracts. The Centaureas are also known as "Knapweed", and the highly invasive range Diffuse and Spotted knapweeds, Centaurea diffusa and Centaurea biebersteinii, are serious rangeland invaders, being highly unpalatable to grazers and browsers both wild and tame. We pulled some knapweed last year which appeared on the side of the railroad tracks which pass through Hill Farm, and the plants left a bitter residue on our hands even through our leather gloves, which took several days to completely subside despite numerous scrubbings. Our garden denizen Centaurea montana does not appear to be quite as unpalatable, but keep an eye on it and confine it to your garden, just to be on the safe side.

Flower bud detail showing the distinctive bracts. The Centaureas are also known as “Knapweeds” due to these overlapping bracts, and the highly invasive Diffuse and Spotted knapweeds, Centaurea diffusa and C. biebersteinii, are serious rangeland invaders, being completely unpalatable to grazers and browsers both wild and tame. We pulled some knapweed last year which appeared on the side of the railroad tracks which pass through Hill Farm, and the plants left a bitter residue on our hands even through our leather gloves, which took several days to completely subside despite numerous scrubbings. Our garden denizen C. montana does not appear to be quite as unpalatable – I have seen sheep eat it with great relish – but keep an eye on it regardless and confine it sternly to your garden, just to be on the safe side. Image: HFN

This Centaurea will be very familiar to those who garden in the Quesnel and Prince George regions, as it thrives in the cool, moist subclimates of the aspen-forested areas, and in some places has escaped gardens to form thriving naturalized colonies along road edges and in ditches, where it is very lovely in its long bloom season. There are some handsome specimens growing in Wells-Barkerville area gardens, and it grows up on the hillside behind the Barkerville Heritage Site buildings, where it coexists quite nicely with native lupines, Indian paintbrush (Castilleja), arnica and wild valerian.

The invasive plant people are keeping an eye on it, being concerned that it might some day become a pest, but I am not overly worried about it, as it has been grown in our region for well over a century, and its “naturalization” appears to be confined to areas of disturbed soil, or places where there have been previous gardens. In my own microclimate it has in fact proved rather difficult, apparently not caring much for my clay soil and sun-baked summers.

Sun to light shade; average soil and moisture. Very long-lived.

Naturalized at the site of an old garden, near Roberts Lake, B.C.

Naturalized at the gone-to-bush site of an old garden, near Roberts Lake, B.C. Image: HFN

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Lysichiton americanus – WESTERN SKUNK CABBAGE, YELLOW SKUNK CABBAGE

Posted in Moisture Lover, Perennial, Plant Portraits, Shade, Spring, Tall, Yellow, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 13, 2014|

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014 Image: HFN

Perennial. Zone 3. Araceae.  Western North America; California north to Alaska; throughout British Columbia from coastal regions to lower elevations of mountain ranges. 

This spectacular native wildflower emerges from its winter hibernation before the snow is completely gone, appearing in wet and swampy areas in April and early May. Tight-packed green flower spikes are enclosed in a large, bright yellow bract. Pollinated by flies and beetles, which are attracted by the musky fragrance of the flowers. Club-shaped seed pods mature in late summer.

Foliage is strongly pungent when bruised, hence the common name. Massive, glossy, fleshy fleaves are 3 to 4 ft. tall.

Excellent for those with larger gardens, and adds early spring interest to the bog garden and pond edge. Prefers shade. A moisture lover, which demands wet feet to be happy. Fairly slow growing, but long-lived and maintenance free where happy.

Yellow Skunk Cabbage may be found in our in the wild in our area in wetter regions, generally where cedars thrive. Look for it in the bush around Likely and Horsefly, and in lower elevation wet areas in the Cariboo Mountains. Abundant in Wells Grey Park.

From Lewis J. Clark’s superb 1973 masterwork Wild Flowers of British Columbia:

The whole plant has a smell of spring, of surging growth, that would be objectionable in a closed room but is not unpleasant in its own habitat. For the record, it does not smell at all like the mephitic spray of the skunk. Bears consume the whole plant, including the short thick rootstock, while deer occasionally browse the leaves.

This huge plant is related to the taro, staple food of the Polynesians. Both plants produce a stinging sensation in the mouth, due to calcium oxalate. Ages ago, however, the natives in our area discovered, as did those of the South Seas, that roasting and drying the root drove off the substance responsible for the stinging, burning taste, after which it could be ground to an edible flour.

Fraser’s Thimble Farms on Saltspring Island is the only commercial source that I am aware of, but you may be able to acquire this by special order through local nurseries such as Richbar in Quesnel.

Lysichiton americanus has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014.

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014. Image: HFN

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014 Image:HFN

Mid-summer foliage. Wells Gray Park, north of Clearwater, B.C. July 20, 2011

Mid-summer foliage. Wells Gray Park, north of Clearwater, B.C. July 20, 2011 Image: HFN

Maturing seed pod. Wells Gray Park, north of Clearwater, B.C. July 20, 2011

Maturing seed pod. Wells Gray Park, north of Clearwater, B.C. July 20, 2011 Image: HFN

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Lysichiton camtschatcensis – WHITE SKUNK CABBAGE, ASIAN SKUNK CABBAGE

Posted in Moisture Lover, Perennial, Plant Portraits, Shade, Spring, Tall, White, tagged , , , , , , , on April 13, 2014|

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014

UBC Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. April 8, 2014 Image: HFN

Perennial. Zone 3. Araceae. Kamchatka Peninsula of northeastern Russia, Sakhalin and Kuril Islands, northern Japan.  Closely related to the native yellow-spathed Skunk Cabbage, Lysichiton americanus.

Very early blooming, emerging through the last of the snow and flowering from late April through May. Big white spathes with a central green spadix packed with tiny green flowers. Large, thick, shiny green leaves.

Pollinated by beetles and flies, which are attracted by the somewhat transient fragrance of the flowers. Foliage is musky-scented when bruised, hence the common name. Foliage clumps are 2 to 3 ft. tall.

A handsome species for the bog garden, edge of pond or stream, or wet woodland garden. Prefers shade. This one thrives in moist conditions, and will require some extra care to establish in Cariboo gardens, though it should prove fully hardy where happy, especially in areas where the native Skunk Cabbage already thrives. It is reported to hybridize with Lysichiton americanus; offspring will show cream coloured spathes which will be larger and more showy than both parents, according to botanical garden reports from England.

Of most interest in earliest spring into early summer, when the seed pods form and the foliage starts to get a bit tired. The “skunky” aroma is not particularly offensive, but it is noticeable when plants are disturbed.

Very rare in cultivation in our region; one for the serious collector. Fraser’s Thimble Farms on Saltspring Island is a good place to inquire if you are keen on giving this one a try. Slow growing, taking five years or so to reach full size, but long-lived and problem free once established.

Lysichiton camschatcensis has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

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