a l t e r n a t i v e s Plant List 2002
P
# denotes name of plant which, to the best of our knowledge, is new to cultivation in the period 2001/2002 or which has not been offered before commercially under any other valid name.
*
means that seed may be available.
+
denotes species beneficial to butterflies and/or moths.
Please note double-flowered forms are of little or no benefit as they
lack nectar.
A
large number of the plants listed are of native provenance and many are local.
P. asiatica ‘Ki Fu’ – An attractively variegated form of this non-native plantain (that
looks very similar to P.
major) having leaves boldly splashed with yellow. Quite different from the
better-known P.
asiatica ‘Variegata’. The
yellow areas seem to have tiny specks of green in them.
SEED ONLY: £1.50/pack. From
Deborah Begley of Terra Nova Plants in Ireland.
P. lanceolata.
Ribwort Plantain.
P. lanceolata 'Burren
Rose' - A wonderful form which
was originally recorded back in the seventeenth Century (and was then known as
the 'Rose Ribwort'). The flowers are subtended by greatly enlarged, leaf-like
bracts, so that what one sees is little tufts of deep, green lance-shaped leaves
on the top of thick stalks. Sometimes
further stalks are produced from the midst of these tufts, each carrying yet
another, smaller tuft of 'leaves'. A curiously exotic effect, but does not
appear to come true from seed. Very
few. £5.00 each.
P. lanceolata 'Streaker'
- Probably the most famous and difficult of cultivated ribworts. Found growing
in a wall in 1970 by Dick Ide of Camberley, Surrey. The slender leaves are
grey-green with a smart creamy white margin. Fairly small rounded flower heads.
Two only £3.50 each.
P. major.
Greater Plantain. The common
form is a familiar plant of well-trodden places, its unmistakable "rat's
tail" spikes bearing innumerable seeds.
P. major ‘Frills’ - A
relatively low-growing form with extraordinary frilly-lobed leaves like some
fancy continental lettuce! Seed and
possibly plants available late summer/autumn.
From Martin Cragg-Barber. £2.50
P. major
'Rosularis'* - The Rose Plantain. Much-loved form in which the
flower spikes, prior to elongating, develop a dense rosette of enlarged bracts,
suggesting a mass of green petals. £2.50
P.
major 'Subtle
Streak'* - The spring and early summer foliage of this variegated form is
strikingly pale, almost cream. As the season progresses it develops extremely
fine, broken streaking in the usual darker green, acquiring an almost mottled
effect. Occasional broader streaks of the darker green may be present, but only
seedlings showing a high proportion of the very intricate variegation should be
selected as true to type. Slugs can be a problem, less so in specimens planted
out in the lawn. £2.50
P. major ‘Tony Lewis’#* - A rare form of the kind known to Gerard as ‘besom’ plantains.
The flower spike has numerous side-branches of flowers and can look more
like a miniature cypress than a plantain. True
from seed. £3.00
POTENTILLA
CINQUEFOILS
P. anserina.
Silverweed. Creeping
plant, good even on heavy soils, with strawberry-like runners and silky-looking
feathery leaves.
P. anserina 'Shine' - An aureate
form with beautiful pure lime yellow leaves. Solitary bright yellow flowers. NOT the same as P.
anserina ‘Golden Treasure', which is a variegated form. Available from
summer. £2.50
P. reptans.
Creeping Cinquefoil.
P. reptans
'Pleniflora' - Double light-yellow flowers in summer make a nice
change on this ambitious runner-and-rooter. For sun, best isolated. £2.50
P. vulgaris.
Selfheal. Dense,
leafy mats with flowering stems that can reach a foot or so in height in
woodland conditions. The usual two-lipped flower is in shades of violet-purple,
with a persistent calyx, often flushed pink or maroon. Popular with bees.
P. vulgaris var.
leucantha*
(formerly listed as P. vulgaris alba) - Pure white flowers in
green calyces. Vigorous form. £2.50.
P. vulgaris
'Gleam'* - This form, I realize, is very variable from seed: at its
best it has pale yellow young leaves, with occasional green spotting or
flecking, the ground colour gradually darkening through shades of lime. However,
some plants may have much more green in them, with a subtle variegation similar
to P. vulgaris ‘Inner Glow’. Usual
purple flowers. Seed only @ £1.50/pack.
P. vulgaris 'Inner Glow'* - A form
with subtle yellowish mottling on the young leaves. At its brightest it
resembles a mellow golden suffusion. Can
look quite attractive with the purple flowers.
£2.50
P. vulgaris, pink
form* - Rich pink flowers with
deep reddish calyces - a very pretty combination.
£2.50
P. vulgaris, 'Voile'* - This has
very pale flowers, the upper lip pale lilac and the lower lip white.
The calyces are lightly flushed with purple. £2.50