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Sunshine Farm and Gardens
Rare and Exceptional Plants for the
Discriminating Gardener and Collector |
` | Isopyrum biternatum |
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I'm not gonna go out on a limb here and change name on this
great ground cover, although it does seem that
people in the know are starting to refer to Isopyrum
biternatum as Enemion biternatum. No... I
like the Genus name Isopyrum and until I find out the
reason for the name change, it's still Isopyrum
here. The story gets a tad more confusing when you
consider the common name "False Rue Anemone" and
then consider that the real "Rue Anemone" has
also seemingly undergone a name change. Looks like
Anemonella thalictroides has been rechristened
Thalictrum thalictroides. Yikes, do
these taxonomists stay up late at night thinking of ways to
make our lives miserable? Anyway, enough about the nomenclature, and on to the plant. What a fantastic native groundcover!!! I've really gotten excited about Isopyrum biternatum lately, as it has slowly begun carpeting a large section of my woodland garden. Even if there weren't those charming white flowers in early Spring that persist for weeks, the foliage would be enough to recommend its use in any shade garden. In the wild, Isopyrum biternatum prefers rich, moist soil loaded with organic matter in dappled shade. In the garden, it seems happy with any kind of soil although I suspect that it would grow much slower the drier things became. There's been a continual bloom since late March and into April here this year, and seems that it will continue well into May. The foliage reminds me of a Corydalis species and appears to be resistant to insect damage or deer browsing. In addition to Isopyrum biternatum which occurs in 26 states East of the Mississippi from NY to Florida but skipping over most of New England, there are a few other species in the genus. Isopyrum hallii, which occurs in Washington and Oregon, Isopyrum occidentale, a California native, and Isopyrum stipitatum which make its home in California and Washington. Taxonomic Hierarchy Kingdom - Plantae - Plants Subkingdom - Tracheobionta - Vascular plants Superdivision - Spermatophyta - Seed plants Division - Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants Class - Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons Subclass - Magnoliidae Order - Ranunculales Family - Ranunculaceae Genus - Isopyrum Species - biternatum Common name - genus - "False Rue Anemone" Common name - species - "False Rue Anemone" Synonyms - Enemion Native of - Eastern US USDA Hardiness Zone - zone 5, maybe 4? Light preference - Full shade to light shade Soil preference - Rich in organic matter Moisture preference - Moist to average Bloom time - Early Spring Bloom color - White Foliage - Medium green, divided Spread - Groundcover Height - 6" - 12" Landscape uses - Groundcover in a shady or woodland garden Medicinal uses - None that I have found The complete set of "Glick Pick of the Week" back issues are now available on line at http://www.sunfarm.com/picks Also, if you're getting more than one copy of this weekly mailing, or would like to subscribe a friend, or for some crazy reason, to unsubscribe, let me know. © 2001 Barry Glick and Sunshine Farm & Gardens |
Copyright © Barry Glick 1996-2025. All Rights Reserved.
Barry Glick, Sunshine Farm and Gardens
696 Glicks Rd, Renick, WV 24966, USA
Phone: (304) 497-2208
E-mail: barry@sunfarm.com
Last modified February 25, 2020
URL: https://www.sunfarm.com/picks/isopyrumbiternatum3-040022.phtml