Chen Yi's evergreen "Omphalogramma H-21" - What is it?

[arisaema]

Have anyone flowered H-21, and what is it? It's more or less evergreen here, leaves are thick and leathery with hairs along the veins and margins, very unlike any Omphalogramma I've ever seen...

[Maggi Young]

Strange thing.... looks more like some sort of Berneuxia to me!!

[arisaema]

Yes, it does look similar to Berneuxia, similar leaf-texture but it lacks the red petioles. She's been selling this plant as Omphalogramma for years, took me three attempts to get one growing

[johnw]

I'm in St John's, Newfoundland tonight. Recently someone posted a pic of a plant received from Chenyi that was labelled  Omphalogramma. The owner thought it might be a Berneuxia. I sent a copy of the pic to Jens Nielsen, propagator extraordinaire, as it was unkown to me and definitely not like any Berneuxia I've seen.  Here's his response - "That is Chrysosplenium macrophylla, it's quite nice and different from other Chrysosplenium, but it is no Omphalogramma." Jens seems to have an encyclopaedic mind for plants.

Hopefully Maggi the Marvel will be able to move this to the proper Topic.

johnw

[fermi de Sousa]

There's a reply on here http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1970.0 about this plant; see reply 5.cheers
fermi

Thanks, Fermi, I have moved that reply to this page, see above. Maggi

[Maggi Young]

I am happy to hear from Jens, via John, about this plant..... it is somewhat embarrassing as we actually have Chrysosplenium macrophylla ( which is Saxifragaceae, rather than Primulaceae, of course)  and I didn't recognise it!  Did not come from Chen Yi, though.

[arisaema]

Thanks John (and Jens, Fermi and Maggi), that certainly looks very close! Will compare it to the description later, if it is then I'm just as embarassed as it's been on my wants-list for years... 

[Hjalmar]

I haven't posted any photos before, so let's see if this works.
This should be Chrysosplenium macrophyllum.

[Hjalmar]

Sorry about the gigantic size of the image. As I said, my first attempt.

[Maggi Young]

Don't worry, Hjalmar, I will edit it for you!

[arisaema]

Thanks for the picture, Hjalmar! Is your plant glabrous on stems and undersides of leaves as well?

[Hjalmar]

It is completely glabrous. I'll make some pictures to show the leaves more clearly and post later today.

[Hjalmar]

Sorry, not completely glabrous. I am not good at botanical terms, especially in English, but there are small hairs at the sides of the leaf base. I think you can see them in the last picture.

By the way, thanks Maggie for illustrating the meaning of the word "dogsbody". Hope I can handle it better this time.

[arisaema]

Thanks, Hjalmar, my plant has those same hairs along the edges (and by the looks of it almost identical frost damage). What (Swedish) zone are you in?

[Hjalmar]

Zone 3-4. Actually I bought the plant this spring (from Gothenburg botanical gardens), so it hasn't lived here a whole winter yet.