Bergenia x spathulata

The original description of this hybrid is based on a specimen collected by Guillaumin from the type plant in 1933 (the type being a specimen of unknown origin cultivated by Nagels at Wilrijk-les-Anvers in Belgium in 1926). It has obovate or oblong leaves with a rounded apex and round-cuneate base. The leaves are glabrous with a closely undulating, ciliate, serrate margin. It produces dense heads of upright facing, white flowers that fade to pink and darken with age, atop tall red-pink stems in spring.

Yeo states that the plant is most likely to have been known as a garden cultivar but later specimens collected from India suggest the cross has also occurred in the wild. It has been recorded growing amongst rocks in the Parvati Valley in Himachal Pradesh at 2760m and possibly in the regions of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

It is important to note that B. x spathulata is believed to be a hybrid of B. ciliata and B. stracheyi (the largest and smallest leaved species). But, as highlighted by Yeo, the absence of hairs on the lamina indicates it is more likely that B. pacumbis (formerly B. ciliata forma ligulata) is one of the parents.