Re: [SG] dry shade---Bergenia

Hmmm....well seems we've come up against the old common plant name problem
here;-)

Claire is right on all counts.

In my part of the planet, botanical/common names for these are:

Bergenia = pigsqueak
Pulmonaria = lungwort
Colocasia = elephant ears (The one Sally is thinking of)

All three of these belong to quite different plant families and are not
related to each other at all, other than being plants:

Bergenia is a member of the Saxifragaceae family
Pulmonaria is a member of the Boraginaceae family and
Colocasia is a member of the Araceae family

Colocasia (of which there are many species) are also know as taro and the
corms are edible when properly prepared....never tried them myself, so I'll
take Sally's word for it that they're tasty, but I have read many posts on
Aroid-L about buying them at specialty food shops and then growing them on.
  I am lusting for C. 'Black Magic',  the one with the black leaves, even
if I do have to dig it up every winter.

For those who have no earthly what these plants look like,  here are some
links to photos of various species/ cultivars of these guys:

Colocasia:
 http://ng.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Colocasia/antiquorum_illustris.html

Pulmonaria:
http://www.sierra.com/sierrahome/gardening/encyc/display/0,1073,17536,00.htm
l

Bergenia:
http://www.msu.edu/user/skinne11/heart.htm

Botanical names take a while to get used to, but they are a universal
language with no room for doubt about what is being talked about....well,
at least unless the taxonomists have been having a field day changing them
;-)

Along the lines of botanical names, I've been meaning to let everyone know
that Tom Clothier has added an excellent article to all the good
information already on his site - "Botanical Binomials - What Do Plant
Names Mean?" is designed to help sort this out for those who are struggling
with botanical names.  Url to the article is:

http://www.anet-chi.com/~manytimes/page35.htm

Marge,
 who can't grow Bergenia, no matter what it's called :-(

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
current article: Mailorder Nurseries - On and Off Line, Part 7, Underwood
Shade Nursery
http://suite101.com/welcome.cfm/222
All garden topics welcome page:
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/3425#top5

----------
>
> Frances and Kris,
> I hope you're not thinking of those great big elephant ears that are
> sold as bulbs.  Another name for Pulmonaria, piqsqueak and elephant ears
> is lungwort.  Just didn't want you two to go out and buy something that
> you'd have to dig up this fall, althought they do make great foliage
> plants.  Not to mention at the fair they're sold as something to eat and
> taste pretty darn good.  (sorry, couldn't help myself)
> Sally
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