Friday, February 06, 2009

Farfugium Japonicum 'Gigantea' The Leopard Plant

Norman Winter, a Mississippi horticulturalist and writer, wrote a feature article named "Leopard Plant Is Made For Shade" in today's Southern Gardening column. If you would like, click on the blue colored link above to read it. I have just a few of these strange plants that I got from a nursery in Washington state. Mine are not the spotted variety that gave rise to the name "Leopard Plant" but rather the solid green 'Gigantea' type with large dinner plate sized leaves. I like them only for the foliage and not for the dinky and weedy yellow flowers, and I have found they love dense shade and lots and lots and lots of water. For some silly reason I get a kick out of saying the Latin name "far-FOO-gee-um jah-PON-ih-kum". Perhaps I am remembering my fun classes of high school Latin years ago. My favorite courses were Latin, algebra, and geometry. To brush up on your Latin pronunciation of the botanical names of plants, just click this blue colored Fine Gardening magazine audio index link to hear whatever you want to scroll to.

4 comments:

RachelD said...

Leopard plant---how have I never heard of this?

The children give me a half-dozen or so new Hostas every Easter, and this year, I'm asking for these.

We have the BEST big tree in the neighborhood, but with its drawback---nothing grows in that arid water-sucking area beneath, which encompasses most of the back yard. So hostas and shaders it is.

And every year when the first Spring greening of the moss where the grass oughta be comes, we swear to put yogurt into the Miracle-Gro container on the hose and feed it faithfully.

But then, by July, all vows gone with the heat, we walk out to crisp little shocks of hopeful grass and crackly dirt, for yards around the tree.

I'm just not a gardener; I just love the BEING of them, the IDEA of them, those that seem full-sprung from Eden with no hand to the plow.

But I'm gonna get me some a these.
Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

This would be perfect for my shady areas. I'm going to have to look for this.

Jan
Always Growing

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing with us.. Nice blog..


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Jessica
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Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing with us.. Nice blog..


___________________
Jessica
Get 28 movie channels for 3 months free