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One look at the stalky clumping habit and jagged pinnate leaves of this species and you’d say it was a dead ringer for a Rhus or Aralia. One look at the wafer-like fruits and you’d say dead ringer for an Elm or if you were a real botanical nut Ptelea. Yet like the mighty platypus is neither duck nor otter this is something altogether, a rare member of the maple family improbably enough! In addition to its alluring oddity the winged red fruits held in large clusters of pairs, red blushed petioles, and extremely quick growth make it a not-half-bad ornamental species as well. Virtually unknown in the US but doing well in the UK so at least Zone 8 hardy if not more (there is record of it in Ohio, so Zone 7 is probably a safe bet as well) large shrub to small tree.

Our first offering of this fairly new species (2009) of leatherwood first described by our friendly neighborhood taxonomist Dr. Aaron Floden of Missouri Botanic. Surprisingly attractive fuzzy oval leaves on a fairly airy shrub. Flowers are diminutive and yellow-green but slightly larger than the more commonly seen Dirca palustris and with a slight sweet fragrance. Let just say it how it is, this is unlikely to be the plant most asked about on garden tours, but it is very charming in its way and wins the approval of the trifecta of myself, Kelly, and Sue a very rare recommendation in its favor. Dirca to me embodies all that is great about Eastern woodlands when seen through the eye of a expatriate of the area. These plants are seed grown from the type locality and the only Kansas population in a range that centers around the Ozarks. 

A collection from Sichuan by Riz Reyes which is quite exceptional. Our resident didact in Polygonatum and associates, Aaron Floden, has found this to be closely related to Disporopsis undulata but larger in all aspects earning the use of a placeholder "pseudoundulata" name. We can't settle the taxonomic nomenclature but "Rizing Star" wouldn't be half bad as a clonal name acknowledging both one of the Northwest's fine young plantsmen but also the superior flowers which is a good thing in a Disporopsis! For purposes of garden design, this is essentially an evergreen Solomon Seal that will get 18"-28" tall with off-white flowers touched in very light yellow in the interior and heavily speckled in dark amber. 

This evergreen Solomon Seal mimic was collected in Taiwan by horticultural powerhouse Adam Black who graciously shared a plant with us some years ago.  Evergreen leaves on a low spreading plant with white flowers although severe cold events might turn evergreen to deciduous.  Pair this with fine-textured ferns, smaller Ophiopogon, Trillium or really, whatever floats your garden design boat.  Follow Adam on Instagram – he goes deep!