Cardamine douglassii Southern Lady Perennial Plant of the Year with a lovely silver pattern

with a lovely silver pattern on the leaf centers

is a rare California endemic

about 6" above the foliage

it is a favorite edible species for giant pandas

all held atop a short 3-6" stalk in midspring

Cardamine douglassii Southern Lady Perennial Plant of the Year with a lovely silver patternCardamine douglassii has become one of our new favorite native spring ephemeral plants. Cardamine douglassii emerges in early November for us and remains as flat rosettes of glaucous leaves until mid February, when it expands into a 1' tall x 18" wide clump of foliage, adorned with flower spikes of mauvy pink a true showpiece in the winter woodland garden at the same time as hellebores. For us, Cardamine douglassii is completely dormant by late April.