Description
Relatively slender mid-green, ribbed, downy leaves alternate up a zigzag stem topped with an elongated spike of slightly pendulous green-white flowers which eventually turn to a deep and intense dark purple from the base. This actually looks to be black to most people. The blooms have an elongated, pinched tube that opens at the mouth to starry, outfacing petals. The flowers have a pleasant, elusive scent of meadowsweet.
A slightly offbeat, quietly attractive, shade-loving plant for a humus-rich spot such as might be chosen for Trillium or Polygonatum.
Modern taxonomic fashion renames this as a species of Maianthemum, so that it would become Maianthemum henryi, however our plants appear to belong to what was once called S. henryi var szechuanica. In the meantime this has now been raised from what was regarded as just a variety to species level, so ours become Maianthemum szechuanica. I am sticking with the “old” name, which will as fashion changes with time, probably be proven to be correct anyway.
Incidentally this is the real thing, not just the name. It is a clone, raised here from a single, tiny survivor of a plant bought from China in 1999 under a totally wrong name. These are our first divisions from the clump, which has finally decided to thrive after 25 years!
