| After
the inclement weather in January, it seems fitting to
feature the 'Ice plant' this month. This was described
by Charles Howard Bury in his 1913 diary "
Wherever the snow had melted there grew a
double anemone, with a bright yellow centre, whose petals varied in colour from
white to the bluey green of ice in a deep
crevasse". However it is a Trollius, (formerly
Hegemone), which grows in the central Asian mountains,
from the Tien Shan to the Altai. |
| We met it at
around 7500 ft in the Tien Shan, growing, as you would
expect from ranunculacea, on a damp slope, near the
Chimbulak ski station south of Almaty. |
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| As to
cultivation, that seems to be difficult. One
account says that whereas the plant has one or two
flowers in the wild, it can have up to 12 in St
Petersburg. However nearer to home, a discussion
thread in the Scottish Rock Forum reveals these
expert gardeners having little success. If it can be
flowered successfully it would be well worth the
trouble. |
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