Vancouveria

Close relatives of epimediums. These charming North American woodland plants offer dainty flowers on taller stems than their cousins, held above distinct wavy, lobed foliage. Botanically the flowers have six petals rather than the four of Epimedium. Both form slowly spreading colonies in none to dry shade.

Spring forage for bees, Vancouveria are a little later-flowering and tend to flower less exuberantly than the related Epimedium species. However, the leaves are useful ground-cover for invertebrates and amphibians, especially the forms that retain their leaves through the winter.