Paris Species

I recognize the description posted by berrygirl from the Wayside Gardens web site. To my thinking (and iif my results with this plant are...Read More typical) this is not so much a "description" as it is "advertising". I ordered several of these for my woodland wildflower beds, and I'd have to say that the plants that have come up for the last 3-4 years are rather dull and certainly not what I would think of as "showstopping".

Presented for info only:

Paris polyphylla is a Trillium relative with green-and-black flowers highlighted by long, wild ye...Read Morellow anthers.
Blooms are 6 inches across, measuring from the lower petals, which are the 5 symmetrical green stems that look like leaves. The central stigma is a red so deep it might as well be black, surrounded by a short golden ray and long, slender, whisker-like yellow anthers.
Growth Habit: In spring, first to be seen is a solitary stem (eventually reaching 18 inches tall) topped by a good cluster of spidery green whorls. Even if this plant never bloomed, the foliage alone would be eye-catching, because nothing else in the garden even remotely resembles it. But the blooms follow in early summer, and the 5 green outer petals (actually sepals) remain long after the inner flower parts have passed. Then there are showy (poisonous) red berries.

About the name "Paris," this plant was not discovered along the banks of the Seine or growing through a crack in the pavement beside the Eiffel Tower. It's an Asian relative of the Trillium, found in the Himalayas from India to China. The name "Paris" comes from "par," meaning equal, and it refers to the great symmetry of the flower, which is one of the most beautiful things about it. Only the Passionflower seems its equal in symmetrical, balanced presentation.

Paris polyphylla reaches 18 inches tall and about 8 inches wide. Plants should be spaced about 10 inches apart, because the form itself is part of the enchantment of this perennial. It needs water during dry spells, and blooms best in humus-enriched soil of any type. Superb for a woodland setting as well as the border. Zones 5b-8.