Epimedium latisepalum

Barrenwort Berberidaceae

A rather magnificent species whose name gives away its party trick: latisepalum means “broad-sepaled”, referring to the unusually large, spreading inner sepals that give its flowers such presence. Native to Baoxing in western Sichuan, China, it is a rare species of forest and woodland, recorded at around 900m and now considered of conservation concern. 

The plant is substantial for an Epimedium, forming a clump of thick, leathery, evergreen foliage, with broad leaflets that are dark green above and glaucous beneath. In spring, large pale-yellow flowers, around 4.5cm across, are carried on loose racemes, with broad reddish inner sepals and long, almost horizontal yellow spurs. 

The species was first introduced to cultivation in 1993 by Mikinori Ogisu, as collection OG 91002. It had originally been grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from material collected in Sichuan, and was subsequently described by William Stearn in Kew Magazine. 

A choice collector’s Epimedium: slow-growing, evergreen and architectural, deserving a sheltered woodland position in humus-rich, moisture-retentive soil.

Height: 45–70cm | Spread: 50–70cm
Flowering: April–May | Foliage: Evergreen
Hardiness: H5 (-23 to -15°C)