''Darmera peltata'', the Indian rhubarb or umbrella plant, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

, the only

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

within the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Darmera'' in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Saxifragaceae Saxifragaceae is a family of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous Perennial plant, perennial flowering plants, within the core eudicot Order (biology), order Saxifragales. The Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of the family has been greatly revised and the ...

.Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd ed, 2013, p 90 It is a slowly spreading

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to mountain streamsides in woodland in the western United States (western Oregon to northwestern California), growing to tall by wide. The name ''Darmera'' honors Karl Darmer, a 19th-century German horticulturist. In late spring the

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

emerge before the leaves, with rounded

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

of numerous five-petalled white to bright pink flowers (measuring up to 1.5 cm across each) borne on flower stems up to 2m long. The leaves, up to long and wide, are

peltate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, rounded, deeply lobed, coarsely toothed, conspicuously veined and dark green, also on stems

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s up to height. The leaves turn red in autumn. In gardens, ''Darmera peltata'' flourishes in pond margins and

bog garden A bog garden is a type of garden that employs permanently moist (but not waterlogged) soil to create a habitat for plants and creatures which thrive in such conditions. It may exploit existing poor drainage in the garden, or it may be artificial ...

s, where it forms an imposing umbrella-like clump. It is suited to smaller gardens where there is no room for ''

Gunnera manicata ''Gunnera manicata'', known as Brazilian giant-rhubarb or giant rhubarb, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gunneraceae from the coastal Serra do Mar Mountains of Santa Catarina, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul States, Brazil. In cultiva ...

'' or ''

Gunnera tinctoria ''Gunnera tinctoria'', known as giant rhubarb, Chilean rhubarb, or ''nalca'', is a flowering plant species native to southern Chile and neighboring zones in Argentina. It is unrelated to rhubarb, as the two plants belong to different order (biol ...

'', distantly related plants that are somewhat similar in appearance, but much larger. ''Darmera peltata'' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. Indian rhubarb (Darmera peltata) on McCloud River.jpg, Darmera peltata "Indian rhubarb".JPG ,

References

*Brickell, Christopher, 1996, ''The

A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants'' London: RHS/Dorling Kindersley

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
Saxifragaceae Monotypic Saxifragaceae genera Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Saxifragaceae-stub