| Where the garden meets the wild | |
|
HACQUETIA HACQUETIA Apiaceae (Carrot family) |
|
| Return to Plants Index Bulbs Index Perennials Index | |
|
|
|
Hacquetia epipactis in our garden. Photograph © Paige Woodward |
|
|
|
|
| Screaming
Day-glo green definitely brightens shade. Some visitors to our
garden wince from the glare of Hacquetia while others order a
dozen plants, and not to torment their enemies, either. Another
early-rising groundcover with this "boing!" effect is Chrysosplenium.
Both drop seeds casually, seeming never to exclude other plants, just spreading
around them.
Hacquetia is a one-plant genus native to the mountains of Europe. It is named for Balthasar Hacquet, an Austrian enthusiast of alpine plants who died in the early 19th century. That it is kin to umbellifers like Lomatium may not be plain at first glance. Those big green leathery "petals" are actually bracts. The umbel of florets is the dome in the centre. |
|
|
|
|
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Hacquetia
epipactis (Scop.) De Candolle. Hacquetia. These bright
deciduous perennials form domed clumps. They rise in
February-March, often flowering before they are completely out of the ground.
Flowering continues into May-June. By then the bracts are a deeper green.
We received our mother plant from Margaret Charlton and Charlie Sale, who
have made a peerless woodland garden near Vancouver, B.C. Height to 15 cm
(6"). Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Flowering-size clump. $12.00 |
|
|
|
| Return to Perennials Index | |
|
|
|
| This page was updated April 8, 2008. | |