I imagine that the folks sauntering through the Garden hunched over, glued to their devices, might be suffering with some degree of plant blindness. Why else would they not slow down at the sight of a glorious field of sea blush and camas or a towering wall of rhododendron flowers? Perhaps I shouldn’t make assumptions about the motivations of visitors, but according to a number of studies (including a 2019 paper co-authored by our own Tara Moreau) plant blindness is a recognized phenomenon, and it’s common. At UBC Botanical Garden we consider treating it a worthwhile challenge and our programming and displays reflect our commitment to helping people see.
There’s nothing wrong with showy plants, but I believe it’s the subtler flowers and understated plant structures and foliar markings requiring active scrutiny that more effectively open people’s eyes to the diversity, intricacy, beauty and intrinsic value of plants. And that brings me to this month’s focus: the saxifrage family. With a few exceptions, saxifrages are modest plants, but on close examination they check boxes for those qualities. And we have an excellent selection in the Botanical Garden, many of them flowering in June.
Our native leafy saxifrages are common plants in the Botanical Garden, and in local habitats, as well. Nearly all of the local lowland saxifrages have palmately lobed leaves (like a typical maple leaf), as exemplified by another western North American saxifrage, Boykinia occidentalis (coast brookfoam). This species bears small, uncomplicated leaves and disorganized arrays of tiny white flowers that sway and sparkle above the foliage. Look for this wildling at the western end of the BC Rainforest Garden pond. The rock wall that greets visitors as they emerge into the Garry Oak Garden from the tunnel is noteworthy for the number of Heuchera micrantha (small-flowered alumroot) that have established there. From just two or three original, locally wild-collected plants, seedlings have established in the cracks of both the high and low walls. Flowering in May, their seed-laden infructescences remain intact well into June. Another accession—a particularly attractive one—wild collected by Ben Stormes and Laura Caddy in the Klamath Mountains of Northern California, is now well established beside the path in the Pacific Slope Garden.
Another native saxifrage is Tolmiea menziesii (piggy-back plant), though it is better known as a houseplant. Sadly, it is short-lived indoors because it prefers cool and humid conditions. While Tolmiea produces rather insignificant looking (but interestingly striped and tubular) little purplish flowers, they are mostly overlooked in deference to the curious plantlets that appear on the mature leaves later in the season, which is the basis for its popularity as a houseplant. At least two colonies of Tolmiea are located in the BC Rainforest Garden.
The Asian strawberry begonia (also known as strawberry geranium and strawberry saxifrage), Saxifraga stolonifera, is definitely worth a mention. With foliar markings like a begonia and runners (stolons) like a strawberry, this evergreen groundcover is aptly named. The delicate blooms, which appear in June, are like so many tiny upside-down butterflies. Look for the wild type of Saxifraga stolonifera in the Asian Woodland section of the E. H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden, and a deep green-leafed (and wine-purple-backed) cultivar, Saxifraga stolonifera ‘Harvest Moon’, in the David C. Lam Asian Garden along upper Asian Way. At a somewhat larger scale, the Asian umbrella plant or shieldleaf, Astilboides tabularis, favours wetter areas, such as along Straley Trail near Siebold Trail. If its leaves were smaller—they are often up to 1 m across—the later-appearing, arching, plume-like inflorescences would help to differentiate it from its miniature twin, Peltoboykinia watanabei (yawata). There are several plants along Upper Asian Way, together with its less ragged-edged cousin, Peltoboykinia tellimoides (yamato-so). These three perennials share a peltate leaf shape (peltate means “shield shaped”—i.e., rounded, with the leaf stalk appearing at or near the middle of the back of the leaf). Another look-alike is Darmera peltata, the California umbrella plant, which, given a suitably boggy habitat, can nearly rival Astilboides for size. There is an appropriately restrained individual in the westernmost planting bed by the Contemporary Lawn.
In terms of numbers of individuals in the Botanical Garden, the strictly Asian genus Rodgersia has all the rest beat. We rely on their broad knee-height compound leaves to shade the ground (thus preventing much weed growth), but the foliage texture of these perennials is superb, and worth admiring in June, before their flowers compete for attention. My favourites include Rodgersia aesculifolia (horse-chestnut leaved rodgersia), in large patches primarily on the north side of Upper Asian Way, but also notably viewable from the boardwalk along the pond edge, and the duck-foot rodgersia, Rodgersia podophylla under the Diospyros lotus (lotus tree) at the east end of the Asian Garden pond, and in the bed east of Lam Trail on the north side of Upper Asian Way. Three cheers for the understated!
Written by:
Douglas Justice
Associate Director, Horticulture and Collections
UBC Botanical Garden
