Sort by:
1758 products
1758 products
Our collection from Asia of this evergreen fern we might refer to as Pyrrosia lingua, but given that taxonomy is especially fluid these years, we're allowing it might be something different. This formed an impressive colony on the bluff overlaying a partly shaded large rock slab where it would endure periods of dry. Vigorous! Good drainage is important.
A crisp October morning at 10000’ on the frozen summit of a mountain in Hubei with small copses of Rhododendron oreodoxa var. fargesii huddled together with leaves curled tubular in the cold. The grassy patches among the rock outcrops were brown and sparkling with frost crystals. We were there in search of the wee Allium henryi discovered in this area by Irish plant hunter Augustine Henry in the 1880’s but perhaps not introduced as our research indicated it was dubiously in cultivation if at all. At this point in the season, most herbaceous plants had succumbed to repeated hard frosts and we were left searching for likely maybe could be Allium withered brown foliage and tattered spent seed heads all of 3-4 inches in height. The view was spectacular although until we could claim a seed or two of a dwarf Allium, we could not give its just due. At last we found a scant few small plant remains in a weekly-grassed spot and some equally petite remnants in humus pockets on the flanks of a shaded rock cliff. Less than 10 seeds from each and we could find no more allowing us a moment to soak in the magnificence of lesser mountains marching away before as with precipitous valleys intervening all clad in true firs (Abies fargesii var. fargesii) which was so familiar yet so exotic. We realized this was one of the great vistas and Kelly said “Mom would like this” and from his pack pulled out a Ziploc of said mom’s ashes and gave them a good scattering. So what about those onion seeds? One lot did indeed turn out to be the blue-flowered Allium henryi with flat leaves lined in white underneath while the other, this one, proved to be the thin-leaved and also blue-flowered Allium cyaneum.
The Harvington name comes attached to excellent British cultivars of a variety of plants most notably Hellebores and refers to those plants developed in the village of Harvington by nurserymen Hugh Nunn. We got these via John Massey of Ashwood nurseries, another name of which there is little doubt when it comes to quality. All this to say this is an excellent Roscoea selection with deeply purple flowers centered by a white spot like a star in the night sky. Though you might be better off with a hand lens rather than a telescope for this sort of stargazing.
Gonads and Phlegm, all I can think of when I see the vomitous new Latin name. I swear sometimes it feels like the taxonomists really have it out for us poor laborers. Luckily the associations stop there (other than the phlegmatic coloration perhaps). This neat little epiphytic fern picked up on a brief stint in Taiwan resembles the more commonly grown Polypodium formosanum (so much so that we originally collected it as such) in its thick vivid green rhizomes that provide a wholly unexpected dimension of appeal. The fronds however differ with the pinnules in unbelievably precise rows undiminished in length until nearly the tip, reminds me of those brain-becalming social media videos of things so perfectly arranged it just triggers something primal in the mind. Likely happy with similar treatment to more common Polypodiums just with an extra dose of warmth and humidity preferred, as of yet untrialed outdoors here but we are guessing not very hardy. We're thinkin' first intro to cultivation in the U.S.
A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering