Bergenia purpurascens var. delavayi

An attractive variety forming a spreading mat of round, spoon-shaped, dark green, leathery leaves with a shallowly crenate-denticulate margin, turning a brilliant shade of purple-red in winter. Leaves oval to obovate. In spring, clusters of nodding pink flowers open atop tall, pink stems that can reach up to 30cm.

Bergenia delavayi was first described from Yunnan and B. purpurascens from Sikkim. The former was distinguished from the latter by its much larger flowers and its distinctly crenate margin, compared to an entire margin found in taxa from India. Yeo regards this variation between the species so slight that it is not enough to separate them. However, the species B. delavayi was later considered a variety of B. purpurascens and recorded as so by Engler and Imscher in 1912 and Sealy in Curtis' Botanical Magazine in 1950. It is currently placed in the synonymy of B. purpurascens by Plants of the World Online, citing Govaerts, 1996. It is said to be endemic to north west Yunnan but herbarium specimens collected by George Forrest between 1919 and 1925 indicate a broader distribution range further east into north east Myanmar.

Height: 45cm; Spread: 50cm

RHS AGM 2009