Outstanding in their field

We were delighted to have the amazing UK botanists, John and Soejatmi Dransfield drop by this week for a visit. Both are retired scientists from Kew Garden, where Dr. Soejatmi Dransfield specialized in paleotropical bamboos, and Dr. John Dransfield specialized in palms. It turns out that John also works with podophyllum in his retirement, so we had a blast chatting about our mutual work with the genus as we wandered the garden. Both are incredibly keen plant lovers, so we hope for another visit when we’ll have even more time to wander and talk plants!

John and Soejatmi Dransfield at JLBG

Very Wet behind the Ears

Despite the impending flooding late last week, Patrick, Zac, and I took off to the mountains of western South Carolina for a few days of botanizing. Despite the monsoon-like rains, we managed to visit seven amazing sites. Below is a highlight.

One stop was at a giant granitic outcrop. The rocks are covered in an array of mosses, lichens, and other associated flora, most growing in shallow pockets or organic debris that alternation from inundated to bone dry for months.

Large patches are covered with the colorful, 1″ tall, annual sedum, Diamorpha smallii, commonly known as Elf orpine.

Diamorpha smallii

Another site also had large granite flatrocks, but with a complete different flora. Here, two dryland ferns, Cheilanthes lanosa and Cheilanthes tomentosa formed large patches, along with the amazing Selaginella tortipila.

Cheilanthes lanosa
Cheilanthes tomentosa
Selaginella tortipila

The more shaded slopes were filled with amazing clones of the dwarf painted buckeye, Aesculus sylvatica, which at this site, mature at only 3-5′ in height. In most other area, the same species matures at 10-20′ tall. The flower colors here ranged from peachy yellow to screaming orange red.

Aesculus sylvatica dwarf forms

One of our next stops was an amazing watershed where, Shortia galacifolia grows by the acre, carpeting the mountain side. This is the world’s largest population of this amazing native. We even found it growing epiphytically on a rock, perched in the middle of a stream.

Shortia galacifolia
Shortia galacifolia

The native Micranthes micranthidifolia grew along the moist stream banks. This is the first time I’ve seen this, since I first purchased the plant back in 1995 from the former We-Du Nursery. In that case, I killed it, before getting it planted.

Micranthes micranthidifolia

Another plant I’ve killed in my previous attempt was the native climbing fern, Lygodium palmatum. Here, it grew with the easy-to-grow Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides.

Lygodium palmatum

The difficult to grow Asarum heterophyllum was scattered throughout our several mile trek, almost all plants were the solid green leaf form.

Asarum heterophyllum

Far easier to grow is the native Hydrangea radiata (formerly known as H. arborescens var. radiata), with its shimmering white-backed leaves.

Hydrangea radiata

As we walked along the towering cliffs, the red fruit adorning the carpets of partridge berry, Mitchella repens glistened in the rain.

Mitchella repens

Several patches of mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum had some of the largest foliage that I’d ever seen, measuring 1′ in width.

Podophyllum peltatum

Not far away we saw some of the most strikingly patterned form of Pachysandra procumbens we’ve ever seen.

Pachysandra procumbens

We almost got through the entire trip without finding a single variegated or colored foliage mutant, when not far from the parking area, we spotted a streak sport on Kalmia latifolia.

Kalmia latifolia streaked branch

Below is our incredible, but soaking wet, botanizing team (l-r) Adam Black, Bartlett Arboretum, Zac Hill, JLBG, Patrick McMillan, JLBG.

When is a May Apple no longer a May Apple?

Back in 2009, the since deceased Delaware Valley plantsman, Jim McClements, shared a may apple hybrid he’d created by crossing the US native Podophyllum peltatum with the Chinese native Podophyllum pleianthum. The offspring was named Podophyllum x inexpectum ‘Ruby Ruth’ (after his second wife). Our plant spent years in a much too dry a garden location until we relocated it to a bog setting alongside pitcher plants. Finally this year, we got our first flowers…a lovely bright red. Now the dilemma is that some Chinese researchers consider their may apple not to be a podophllum at all, but instead a sister genus, Dysosma. If we buy into that theory, then our plant becomes a bigeneric hybrid that will need a new nothogeneric name, either x Dysophyllum or x Podososma. After growing most of the growable species, I’m having a hard time supporting the idea of two separate genera, but we’ll see.

Friday Morning Podcast

Here are some images of fruit and seed pods from the garden today. Come visit this weekend during our Summer Open Nursery & Garden Days, Friday & Saturday from 8 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 pm – 5 pm.

Acer (Maple)
Hesperaloe (False Red Yucca)
Podophyllum (May Apple) – hand pollinated and tagged with parent information