Description
(Podophyllum veitchii, Dysosma delavayi, Dysosma veitchii )
Endemic to China, Podophyllum delavayi has a 10-20 cm umbrella leaf (rarely two) deeply cut into 6-8 lobes. The juvenile leaves (but not those on flowering plants) are usually spectacularly patterned, marbled, zoned and blotched in shades of green, red, purple, bronze, black and white. This is one plant will have you wondering if all of the specimens can possibly be the same species. It is however one of those “Snowflake” plants, in the sense that no two are the same. Even though no two leaves are alike none ever seem to be bad and some of them are incredible in their colouring and they hold this well until quite late in the season. They are held above the ground on only a very short stem.
After the leaves the flowers are perhaps a little less remarkable but they are bright purple-red and quite conspicuous. Each plant holds 2-6 hanging, pear-shaped blooms, borne in a stalked cluster just below each leaf pair. These hang on a hairy red stalk. The exterior is of a very deep purple- to garnet-red, around a paler madder-pink interior. Plants do need time to settle before they commence flowering, please be patient.
One of those quietly attractive woodlanders that will appeal to true plant lovers. You will not become a connoisseur by trying to like this, but if it instantly appeals without anyone needing to explain why it is so incredible, then you have already passed through the gateless gate.
These are lovely strong rhizomes, obtained from China and grown here since, they are well capable of flowering. A rare plant hardly seen out of its native Szechuan, China since it was described by Helms and Wilson in 1906, from light woodland there.
Current thinking is that the plant grown as (and perhaps all specimens of) P. veitchii is the same plant as P. delavayi, with the name delavayi taking precedence.
