EPIMEDIUM. The Asian equivalents of our native Vancouveria (see the entry), to which they are closely related. Though once neglected by California gardeners, they have become popular plants for ground cover in shady spots. They grow at a leisurely rate, eventually forming broad carpets with their branched rhizomes. The 6-12" leaves are divided into broad, flat leaflets and rise on wiry stalks in spring, changing from bronze to bright or dark green as they expand. Airy clusters of small starlike blossoms appear in late spring and summer. In fall the leaves are beautifully tinted with maroon, red and orange. E. grandiflorum is a 1’ plant with normally white flowers, rose-colored in the selection E. g. ‘Rose Queen’. E. pinnatum grows 1’ to 1½’ tall and has sulphur-colored flowers, bright yellow in the variety colchicum. E. rubrum (E. alpinum var. rubrum) is a smaller plant displaying many rose pink blossoms. x cantabrigiense is a robust hybrid of this species, with flower stems 1-2’ high, bearing many small pale yellow flowers with a reddish base. x warleyense is the largest of our lot, with exceptionally broad leaflets and coppery orange flowers. Light to rather deep shade, though brighter light results in more flowers, most soils, moderate to occasional watering when established. Hardy to below 0^oF.