Dirca decipiens

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.