Description
Referred to in its native Japan as the loosely translated phrase ‘cold wild ginger’ this is an easy species, esteemed because it starts to flower late in the autumn and this continues through the spring, until perhaps as late as April.
The small, dark blue-green leaves are well-marked in small, diffuse zones of silver and sage green. They form what amounts to a loose, miniature ground cover and would make a perfect, virtually evergreen foil for hardy Ϲyclamen.
Below the leaves sit the small, greenish-purple flowers which have a white ring at the mouth. These are not, it must be said, conspicuous and they often have their floral tube buried in the soil. The beauty of this plant lies more in the leaves.
Our stock is a Japanese variant, var nipponicum, from the mountains of Saitama, in the Kanto region. This is regarded as a synonym of the type by many.
