Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Cardamine concatenata (syn. Dentaria laciniata)

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 12″.  Cutleaf Toothwort.  North America.  A delightful spring ephemeral that is one of the first to appear in the woodland garden.  The common name refers to the tooth-like projections on the rhizome which were thought to cure toothaches.  Each flowering stem emerges from the rhizome and has a whorl of three leaves deeply divided and sharply toothed and sit below the flower.  The flowers are in terminal clusters of fragrant, four-petalled, ½-inch, white flowers that can often be flushed pink.  Cutleaf Toothwort is sometimes called Pepper Root in reference to the horseradish flavour of the rhizomes which can be cut up and added to salads.  Sadly, our patches are not overly abundant so we daren’t try this delicacy.  Reputed to be difficult from seed but worth giving it the old college try.  Partial shade.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tricyrtis formosana

Family: (Liliaceae)

(P) to 3.5′.  Toad Lily.  Taiwan.  Shining, deeply veined, dark leaves on stiff, erect stems that branch into loose clusters of orchid-like buds and flowers.  Flowers are white to light purple with intense reddish-purple spotting and yellowish throats.  Stamens and stigma protrude far above the six splayed petals.  August to September.  Beautiful.  Moist soil.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Boehmeria spicata

Family: (Urticaceae)

(P) to 4′.  False Nettle.  Discovered in Korea by Dan Hinkley of Heronswood Nursery.  We love it in our Woodland, arching out of Pachysandra terminalis.  Bold, nettle-like, jagged-edged leaves have pinkish red, thread-like, elongated flower clusters emerging from the leaf axils.  A real curiosity.  Summer blooming.  Partial shade.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tricyrtis macropoda

Family: (Liliaceae)

(P) to 3′.  Japanese Toad Lily, Yama-hototogisu.  China, Japan.  Shining, deeply veined, dark, heart-shaped leaves on erect, arching stems that branch into loose terminal and axillary clusters of upward pointing, orchid-like buds and flowers.  Flowers are a more delicate pale-pink or white, featuring small, reddish-purple spots with stamens and stigma that protrude far above the six splayed petals.  August to September.  Moist soil.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & 6

 

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tellima grandiflora

Family: (Saxifragaceae)

(P) to 2′.  Fringe Cups.  Western North America.  Racemes of lime-green, bell-shaped, filigreed, fragrant flowers turning delicate pink with age.  Basal leaves are softly hairy.  Partial shade.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dicentra cucullaria

Family: (Papaveraceae)

Native perennial to 12″.  Dutchman’s Breeches.  This easily recognized spring ephemeral typically occurs on forest floors, slopes, ledges, valleys and along stream banks, emerging in March and flowering in early April.  Foliage is greyish green and deeply-cut with a fern-like appearance.   Racemes of waxy, white (infrequently tinged with pink), yellow-tipped flowers have two inflated spurs that suggest the legs of tiny pantaloons with the ankles facing upward.  Flowers are borne in pairs, drooping from leafless stems arching above the foliage.  Self-sows when happy and enjoys part to full shade in humus-rich, woodland soil.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Primula elatior

Family: (Primulaceae)

(P) to 10″.  Oxlip.  A charming British native with one-sided clusters of pale yellow, narrow, trumpet-like, fragrant flowers with deeper yellow throats.  Basal rosettes are hairy, yet soft.  Spring blooming.  Moist soil.  Partial shade. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Glaucidium palmatum var. leucanthemum

Family: (Ranunculaceae)

(P) to 2′.  A lovely white form of the Japanese Wood Poppy.  Large, heavily-veined and crinkled maple-like leaves create a perfect backdrop for Poppy-like flowers comprised of four, snow white, petaloid sepals that surround a large, showy central boss of numerous bright yellow stamens.  This rare woodland aristocrat blooms in May and the show continues with interesting fruits of substantial, upright, two fused follicles which persist until fall.  Moist soil.  Partial shade.  3 & 7 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aralia continentalis

Family: (Araliaceae)

(P) to 4′. Manchurian Spikenard. Clump-forming, architectural perennial with arching stems of alternate, bipinnate leaves. In midsummer, many terminal racemes of green flowers are soon followed by globose, blue-black fruit. Partial shade. Likes moisture. 3 & 7 for 4 months, then T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Kirengeshoma palmata Koreana Group

Family: (Hydrangeaceae)

 

(P) to 4′.  A Korean dignitary.  Large, sharply lobed, maple-like leaves in opposite pairs display a handsome silvery pubescence when emerging in spring.  The foliage provides interest through late summer when the flowers emerge.  Pale yellow, waxy, five-petalled flowers are borne on a stiffly upright inflorescence.  Blooms a bit earlier than K. palmata.   A “must-have.”  Prefers partial shade.  5 & T2