Gymnospermium

Gymnospermium (sometimes called Leontice) is a genus of perhaps as many as 15 tuberous, flowering plants of the Berberidaceae (Barberry family). They are spread from S.E. Europe (Montenegro, Albania and Greece) as far as western China.

In the wild they have a deep-seated, often corky tuber. This all serves to protect them from the excesses of summer dryness and temperatures. This has erroneously led some authors to suggest that in cultivation they need the hot dry conditions found at the surface (“a hot dry summer bake”) when in fact they dislike extremes of heat or dryness and persist quite happily grown as ‘ordinary’ bulbs with sun, good drainage and fertile conditions.

They can be grown in pots in an alpine house where they make an excellent display, but they are best put outside after flowering. They are very hardy plants used to emerging early in the year into cold conditions and they often grow as “snow-melt” plants. They are dwarf at flowering time and display their flowers to best advantage against their still rolled, bronzed leaves, later the plants elongate as they set seed.

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