Epimedium - various threads gathered together here

[Gabriela]

It looks very much like E. davidii Chris (scroll a bit up and you'll see an image I posted last year).
Images with the leaves would be useful, as well other info: height, evergreen?...to be sure on the ID.

[ChrisB]

If it ever stops raining I'll go out and get pics of foliage, Gabriela.  It's only coming up now, flowers before foliage.  and I'll measure height, but it is a young plant from seed. Do they usually come true?

[Gabriela]

I'll also take a picture with the young foliage; E. davidii is evergreen. My oldest davidii seedlings are two years old and no flowers; I don't know if it comes true. The foliage looks like but there were other Epimediums close by.

[Gabriela]

One picture of today; even without flowers the foliage is very beautiful. The leaves are hairy on the back and this confirms the description from Stearn Epimedium monograph.
I wouldn't worry too much about the name though, they are all beautiful. It is very nice to scroll through the Epimedium thread  and there are other pictures with E. davidii.
(note: the one posted by Gerrrit as davidii shows an E. ecalcaratum)

[ChrisB]

Hi again Gabriela, you are quite right, it is E. davidii.  There were some for sale in the nursery t the Himalayan Garden I visited yesterday and the flowers were identical, so I think it must come true from seed.  My foliage is not quite out yet but I will check verso of the leaves for hairiness when they do.  Thanks for all your help!

[wooden shoe]

I have seen a mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, licking on the flowers. The flowers were not damaged, so it probably was only after the nectar. So mouses might even be pollinators for this family.
I never expected that.

[WimB]

Epimedium 'Beni-Kujaku'
Epimedium 'Amanagowa'
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Purple Pixie'
Epimedium x versicolor 'Strawberry Blush'

[WimB]

Epimedium 'Hagoromo'
Epimedium davidii, spurless

[Gabriela]

Beautiful Epimediums Wim. I love them all, unfortunately not enough space/ shade to plant them all (if I would find to buy them first

I have to challenge you on E. davidii - the plant you show is E. ecalcaratum. It may go around under the wrong name because it was already shown in this thread with the same/wrong name.
I answered last year to ChrisB about davidii - "(note: the one posted by Gerrrit as davidii shows an E. ecalcaratum)"

[Maggi Young]

I cannot remember if we've mentioned this website before - but I've just been reminded about it by McMark.
Epimedium Info is a site run by Lars Ulsamer in Germany. Large gallery of photos of species and hybrids :
http://www.epimedium.info/

[WimB]

I have to challenge you on E. davidii - the plant you show is E. ecalcaratum. It may go around under the wrong name because it was already shown in this thread with the same/wrong name.
I answered last year to ChrisB about davidii - "(note: the one posted by Gerrrit as davidii shows an E. ecalcaratum)"

I'm sorry, but I'm not convinced. E. ecalcaratum has completely different shaped flowers and the leaves are different too. E. ecalcaratum has more campanulate flowers (especially when the flower ages, they open up more) This one stays box-shaped (like davidii). The shape of the leaf of ecalcaratum is more rounded than the one on this plant, and the veins in the leaves of ecalcaratum are more pronounced than the veins in my plant's leaves. And sometimes this plant does give spurred flowers in between the unspurred ones.

But...I have to agree that it does look like it is close to ecalcaratum too...so,

both ecalcaratum and davidii grow in the wild in Sichuan (I don't know if they grow in the same regions but they grow in the same conditions and in the same province) and I have to wonder, if they sometimes do hybridise....and if this might be a hybrid...my plant came from Gerrit, so maybe he can shed some more light on this. I don't know where his plant originated from. Maybe it is a garden hybrid?

[Gabriela]

I cannot remember if we've mentioned this website before - but I've just been reminded about it by McMark.
Epimedium Info is a site run by Lars Ulsamer in Germany. Large gallery of photos of species and hybrids :
http://www.epimedium.info/

A good website, didn't browsed all species but unfortunately he also shows for E. davidii EMR 4125 - an E. ecalcaratum. It must be that someone in the region sold this plant wrongly labeled and then was 'propagated' like that to others.
I took few pictures from Stearn Epimediums Monography to clarify this - E. davidii EMR 4125

[Gabriela]

I'm sorry, but I'm not convinced. E. ecalcaratum has completely different shaped flowers and the leaves are different too. E. ecalcaratum has more campanulate flowers (especially when the flower ages, they open up more) This one stays box-shaped (like davidii). The shape of the leaf of ecalcaratum is more rounded than the one on this plant, and the veins in the leaves of ecalcaratum are more pronounced than the veins in my plant's leaves. And sometimes this plant does give spurred flowers in between the unspurred ones.

But...I have to agree that it does look like it is close to ecalcaratum too...so,

both ecalcaratum and davidii grow in the wild in Sichuan (I don't know if they grow in the same regions but they grow in the same conditions and in the same province) and I have to wonder, if they sometimes do hybridise....and if this might be a hybrid...my plant came from Gerrit, so maybe he can shed some more light on this. I don't know where his plant originated from. Maybe it is a garden hybrid?

I'm not trying to convince you Wim, just presenting facts I cannot grow many of these Epimediums but that hasn't stopped me to read a lot about them.
Here is as well from Stearn Monography - E. ecalcaratum picture with flowers showing variability in the wild


The description


Also, I don't know if many are aware about the UK National collection of Epimedium - hold by Roger and Linda Hammond in Brentwood, Essex. They also have good pictures showing variations on E. ecalcaratum (please excuse few misspellings).
http://www.epimedium-collection.com/ecalceratum.html

[WimB]

A good website, didn't browsed all species but unfortunately he also shows for E. davidii EMR 4125 - an E. ecalcaratum. It must be that someone in the region sold this plant wrongly labeled and then was 'propagated' like that to others.
I took few pictures from Stearn Epimediums Monography to clarify this - E. davidii EMR 4125

That's right, EMR4125 does have spurs...the form he's showing is not correct.

I'm not trying to convince you Wim, just presenting facts I cannot grow many of these Epimediums but that hasn't stopped me to read a lot about them.
.........Here is as well from Stearn Monography - E. ecalcaratum picture with flowers showing variability in the wild
The description....... Also, I don't know if many are aware about the UK National collection of Epimedium - hold by Roger and Linda Hammond in Brentwood, Essex. They also have good pictures showing variations on E. ecalcaratum (please excuse few misspellings).
http://www.epimedium-collection.com/ecalceratum.html

Why can't you grow a lot of them? Does it get to cold where you live? Which ones do well over there?

You are starting to convince me (by facts :-) ). Maybe you are right about it being ecalcaratum...I've mailed a few of the "the Epimedium powers that be" in Europe (LOL) to ask them what they think. I do know the collecttion of the Hammonds, they have a beautiful collection.

[Gabriela]

Why can't you grow a lot of them? Does it get to cold where you live? Which ones do well over there?

I don't have a very large garden Wim, and not enough shady places in it, so I have to be selective. When I moved I gave away some of the deciduous and kept the Chinese sp./evergreens because that's what interesting me, not just the flowers. Together with Helleborus and few others these Epimediums are among few plants that retain nice foliage in the winter.
Cold wise I think all would be fine but it's also the summer heat to consider, which can be awful here, so they really need a part-shaded location in the garden.

I will try and buy a few more species, meanwhile I am growing from seeds as much as I can from stellulatum, acuminatum, lishihchenii, 'Amber Queen' and davidii.