Epimedium chlorandrum

Barrenwort Berberidaceae

A rather elegant yellow-flowered Epimedium with a complicated botanical passport. Epimedium chlorandrum was described by William Stearn from Baoxing, Sichuan, China, with the cultivated collection Ogisu 94003 introduced into England. Modern taxonomic work now treats it as a synonym of E. acuminatum, whose natural populations vary remarkably in flower colour from pale yellow through yellow-purple to deep violet.

The chlorandrum form remains horticulturally distinctive for its pale primrose-yellow flowers, carried above handsome, sharply pointed, spiny-edged foliage in spring. So while the name has been folded into E. acuminatum, the yellow-flowered plant is well worth retaining under its familiar horticultural identity.

A superb woodland plant for humus-rich, moisture-retentive soil, becoming increasingly tolerant of dry shade once established.

Height: 40–60cm | Spread: 50–70cm
Flowering: April–May | Foliage: Evergreen/semi-evergreen
Hardiness: H5 (-23 to -15°C)