This relative of the birthwort is producing a succession of flowers in the Woodland Garden.
Saruma henryi, or upright wild ginger, is a shade-loving herbaceous perennial from China, where it grows in forests, valleys and streamsides. Although this species occurs in several provinces of central China, it is registered as being endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, due to habitat loss and population fragmentation. S. henryi forms a mound to 60cm in height, and spreads either by creeping roots, or by seed. Individual tri-petalled, yellow flowers, produced sporadically through summer, are borne in the leaf axils, and the downy, cordate leaves release a ginger-like scent when bruised. The species honours Augustine Henry (1857-1930), a plant collector for the Royal Botanic Garden Kew, who spent 20 years botanising and collecting in central China. A member of the Aristolochiaceae (birthwort family) S. henryi is related to the Chinese wild ginger (Asarum splendens), European birthwort (Aristolochia clematitis), and the Brazilian Dutchman’s pipe (Aristolochia grandiflora).