Plant of the day is Rehmannia piasezkii or Chinese-foxglove
Rehmania sp.
Due to the fact that this is PotDs 50th post, I figured I'd treat you with an upfront and awesome photo. A great looking flower, with some large and in charge leaves. Looks pretty fuzzy huh? Hirsute, we'll call that hirsute.
Taxonomy/Etc.: Rehmania is a small genus of plants in the order Lamiales. They are endemic to China. The genus used to be included in a few different families and as of now seems officially recognized as a member of the Plantaginaceae or plantain family. No, not that plantain silly, a different one. The genus is named after Russian physician Dr. Josef Rehmann who was once an ambassador to China (I had to dig for that one).
An interesting fact, the family would normally be Named Veronicaceae as its 1782 reference predates the occurrence of Plantaginaceae in 1789. Apparently it is a conserved name under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature or ICBN. Apparently 1789 is the cutoff conservation consideration. Oh those lines in the sand. The family in general varies quite a bit in flower structure. Plantago is that weed in your lawn, perhaps you even several species. Go find it!
Description: A perennial that grows about 50cm high by about 60cm wide. Called Chinese-foxglove because of the resemblance of the flowers to Digitalis or foxglove. They are closely related actually and now in the same family. See the full description below.
A fantastic botanical description here: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200021239
Now if you've clicked this and went...whoaaa...what the!? I sympathize. Just kind of skim over the terms you don't know, maybe just a Google or two to look up a definition and it's not all that bad. Some of these terms are fun and well worth knowing, I promise. Villous = shaggy. See, it's simple, learning is fun.
Rehmannia piesezkii
I will say that the leaves of even young plants are QUITE large, they really make a statement. I've seen descriptions of the leaves as glossy. Flora of China rightly calls them as villous. Has purple flowers that occur from May-Sep so it is actually a wonderful garden plant that flowers consistently through the summer. The much more commonly planted species is Rehmannia elata but I think this would do nicely as well.
Habitat: Found on mountain slpes 800-1500m. Somewhere in China. Frustratingly difficult to find good documentation on exactly where. I will likely keep an ear to the ground on this one and come back and add this information when I find it.
Culture: Typically listed as USDA hardy to zone 8a or 10b. This plant MIGHT make it in a very well sheltered site in 7 but zone 6 is pushing it. That being said, if you can find a warm nook (next to a building maybe?) anything is possible. I have a zone 8 perennial I've tricked into coming back for the last 3 years, get clever. It prefers light shade and flowers best under cool conditions. With that being said, it may actually be well suited for a rock garden if you can find a shadier spot. The plant does not like to fully dry out but the larger leaves can rot if too wet. The solution would be to mulch around the plant with stone or plant directly into a rock garden.
Germination: Even stored seed does fairly well and will readily germ on mist/humid environment after a few weeks. Seedlings transplant well into larger containers as far as I can tell. It is a fast grower and once established will really impress. Will require plenty of space so leaves don't overlap and shade each other out.
Unfortunately those are about the only license friendly photos that I could rustle up. This blog here, which is definitely not in English has some great up close photos of the leaves and flowers.
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