Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Another thank you to Lotus J. aka ngawangchodron@Flickr for sharing a photograph with us (original via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated!
There are six species within the genus Rehmannia, and they are collectively known as the Chinese foxgloves. Rehmannia currently resides in taxonomic limbo; no one is quite certain as to what plant family it should belong to. Both Wikipedia and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group comment on its uncertain familial placement.
Paghat writes about Rehmannia elata in the garden.
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
I have grown this plant in Alabama,zone 8,for 2 years. Contrary to Paghat's comments, the heat and humidity seem not to bother it at all. In fact the plant did very well in the heat (100+ degrees) and charastic humidity of an Alabama summer. The seed did not germinate till June, although I planted them in February. Like okra, it seems to revel in the heat. However, my plant from last year did not overwinter. I had put down a new layer of mulch, but I got only a few seedling plants. My plant's flowers are a very pale pink and one seedling is completely white without any throat markings.
this is a lovely flower
with an orchid feel to it
i do hope you find a family
for it if not i guess we could
take it in give it a good home
least a person could do before
cold weather sets in
Fie on phylogenetic fussiness!
Elizabeth welcomes it into the Airhartaceae.
I have grown this foxglove at 500 ft above sea leval on heavy clay soil for the last twenty years in STAFFORDSHIRE UK.