LEOPARD PLANT (FARFUGIUM) ORIGINAL GROUND COVER FOR SHADY AREAS. Le Quotidien du Jardin N°468

(original theme music: "Nature Chilienne" by Sebastian Bustos and Marie M)
NewsJardinTV, the channel that shares its passion for plants, gardens, botany, nature and gardening, offers you issue 467 of its show "Le Quotidien du Jardin", produced by Nicole and Patrick Mioulane
BonneNature2547 asks us the following question:
What advice can you give me about the leopard plant? Is it toxic? Does it withstand the cold? Are there different forms?
The name "leopard plant" or "panther plant" is commonly given to Farfugium japonicum 'Aureomaculatum'?
The genus Farfugium (family Asteraceae) was created in 1857 by the British botanist John Lindley (1799 - 1865). It was inspired by the Latin farris, mush and fugere, flee, an allusion to the texture of the bloom that covers young shoots at their birth, then disappears.
The international botanical nomenclature currently recognizes two species in the genus Farfugium and 13 synonyms. These are plants native to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
The most commonly cultivated species, Farfugium japonicum, was first considered a coltsfoot by Carl von Linné (1707 - 1778) who described it under the name Tussilago japonica in 1767. The plant was placed in the valid nomenclature in 1939 by the Japanese botanist Shirō Kitamura (1906-2002). It is sometimes offered by nurseries under the (invalid) name Ligularia tussilaginea.
Farfugium japonicum forms a clump 50 to 80 cm high and wide. The strain is resistant to -10 °C, but the foliage is destroyed from -5 °C.
Depending on the climate, the leaves, which measure 15 to 30 cm in diameter, are evergreen or semi-evergreen, carried by a petiole of about 20 cm. Orbicular (round) or reniform (kidney-shaped), they are slightly fleshy, clearly leathery (leather texture), shiny dark green on the upper side, with light green veins and smooth or toothed edges. Because of their particular shape, the English compare the plant to a "tractor seat plant".
In October and November and until January if the plant is well sheltered, Farfugium japonicum develops a downy floral stem bearing corymbs of golden yellow flower heads 4 to 5 cm in diameter, which resemble daisies. These nectariferous inflorescences attract bees, hoverflies and butterflies.
The natural variety Farfugium japonicum var. giganteum is characterized by larger leaves than those of the type species.
There are also various cultivars, the most interesting of which are:
• Farfugium japonicum ‘Argenteum’ with glaucous green leaves marbled with creamy white, rarely found in French nurseries.
• Farfugium japonicum ‘Aureomaculatum’ is called leopard plant because of its irregularly yellow-spotted foliage
• Farfugium japonicum ‘Crispatum’ (or ‘Crispata’) light green or glaucous leaves with wavy, wrinkled edges, very original
The second valid species Farfugium hiberniflorum, is a rarity endemic to Japan, which is not cultivated in its botanical form. However, by being crossed in the United States (in Georgia) with Farfugium japonicum, this species was used to create the hybrid Farfugium ‘Last Dance’, a smaller plant (40 to 60 cm) with bright green leaves sometimes slightly coppery, which have a cut edge and very visible veins.
Install the panther plant in partial shade in rather acidic, humus-rich soil, which remains very cool in summer, but is never soggy. A good organic mulch is appreciated before winter.
Because of its rapid growth, Farfugium japonicum is an excellent ground cover for lightly shaded gardens. It can also be grown in pots.
Beware of gastropods that love to eat the tender young shoots of Farfugium in spring.
In Japan, the petioles of the young leaves are eaten in salads or soups, after having necessarily blanched them, then peeled, to eliminate the toxic alkaloids they contain and their excess bitterness.
In Japanese folk medicine, the leaves are applied as poultices on wounds and ulcers.
Be careful not to confuse the leopard plant with the leopard flower or leopard lily: Belamcanda chinensis, a hardy Chinese iridaceae, with very decorative summer flowers
Thank you for following us. We hope that this video interlude has interested you and that you have had a pleasant time in our company. We invite you four times a week for a new show: "LE QUOTIDIEN DU JARDIN". It's on NewsJardinTV and nowhere else!
In issue 469 we will answer the following question:
I was told that there was a type of sequoia that loses its leaves in winter like the bald cypress? Can you introduce it to us in a future show please?