Paris polyphylla

I first became aware of this handsome plant while working at Great Dixter, where it was used to great effect in an all-green vignette alongside Sarcococca ruscifolia and Athyrium filix-femina ‘Plumosum Axminster’. Atop the thick, naked stems sits a large ruff of lanceolate foliage with a second tier above this, composed of smaller green sepals surrounding a knob-like stigma at the centre and spidery stamens. It is slow to establish and will take a few years before it makes a strong show, but it is very much worth the wait and long lived.

Height 60-80cm. Origin Himalayas to China. Conditions Likes rich, moist soil; dappled shade. Hardiness RHS H4, USDA 5a-9b. Season Summer – autumn.