Description
A dependable perennial which makes slender, erect stems up to 35cm tall. These are naked in the lower part, but above this very narrow leaves are produced in whorls with their characteristically curled tips. The leaves are held downwards, tending to clasp the stem, especially on emergence. This is a cold-avoidance trick characteristic of plants which emerge early in areas where there may be a late frost. Explaining this does not however imply any tenderness, it is just a wild strategy, similar to the way that some Fritillaria hold their flowers close to the ground to avoid cold and then suddenly shoot them upwards when they have developed.
The pendant flowers are borne in the leaf axils in clusters. These are inflated and are initially almost white but they soon mature to a rose-red with the flared, open mouth stained internally with a darker red. This is a very nice, unusual and striking variation on the theme of the genus. The flowers are followed by purple-red berries in September.
Ideally grow this in part shade, or half shade in a moist, well-drained, leafy soil, but not it is not a fussy or difficult plant.
First offered by us, January 2001
