Description
Part of a very variable species complex centred around F. monantha and said by some to be a synonym of that species. We find it distinct here in that it is a larger plant, which flowers 7-10 days ahead of its relatives, with several, quite large flowers per plant when mature (one or two when smaller) and broad, whorled leaves up the stem. As we grow it the flowers as we grow it are large, campanulate, purple-bells (not green as you may see in some internet pictures which I do not believe to be this species). However the precise colour and botanical description of F. hupehensis is impossible to disentangle at present as Flora of China subsumes this into F. monantha.
Clearly belonging to a complex taxonomic group but at the same time distinct, this is a very garden worthy, large-flowered species which is proving quite easy in a humus-rich, but well-drained soil here.
In the wild found in forests, thickets and grassy slopes at 100–1,600m, often over limestone, in northern China, extending southwards in the mountains. These are our own stock grown from cultivated, nursery-raised bulbs from Hubei, China.
