Elatostema umbellata PB 04-1002

Dents de Kyoto Urticaceae

A delightful and decidedly underused member of the nettle family, this Japanese woodland plant makes a handsome, semi-trailing carpet of glossy, deeply serrated leaves on slender arching stems. The foliage gives it an almost tropical appearance, although it is considerably better behaved than many plants that make similar claims. Small greenish-white flowers appear in the leaf axils from spring, followed by curious purple bulbils which provide an additional means of vegetative reproduction.

PB 04-1002 was collected by the French botanist and garden designer Patrick Blanc in the forests of Honshu, Japan, and subsequently introduced into horticulture as ‘Dents de Kyoto’. The collection is now circulating internationally under this number, with the distinctive glossy foliage and semi-trailing habit making it particularly valuable as a woodland groundcover. 

Give it a cool, shady position in humus-rich, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. It appreciates the conditions of Japanese woodland—constant moisture, good organic matter and protection from hot afternoon sun—but dislikes drying out. An excellent companion for ferns and other choice woodland plants, it can be used beneath shrubs, along woodland paths or allowed to scramble gently over stones and banks.

There is also a useful culinary connection: young shoots and leaves are eaten as a wild vegetable in Japan, providing a rather good excuse for growing it in the first place—although its ornamental qualities are likely to ensure that most gardeners leave the kitchen scissors firmly in the shed. 

Collection: PB 04-1002, Patrick Blanc, Honshu, Japan
Introduction: Introduced into cultivation from Blanc’s Japanese collection; subsequently distributed as ‘Dents de Kyoto’. 
Distribution: Japan and Korea
Flowering: March–May
Growing conditions: Moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil; partial to full shade
Hardiness: H4 — approximately -10 to -5°C
Height: 20–30cm
Spread: 40–60cm