Lysimachia congestiflora ‘Zidie’: An Ornamental Plant with Fancy Leaves

Abstract

The genus of Lysimachia L. contains 191 species (Takhtajan, 1997), and the majority of Lysimachia species occur throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere (Chen and Hu, 1989). In China, more than 50 Lysimachia species are exploited as medicinal herbs (Zheng et al., 2009a). Apart from their medicinal value, the Lysimachia plants have ornamental significance. At present, 30 Lysimachia cultivars are used as commercial landscape plants (Zheng et al., 2009b). Dense-flowered loosestrife (L. congestiflora Hemsl.), a mat-forming herbaceous perennial, is widely distributed in south, southwest, and central China with a subtropical continental monsoon climate (Chen and Hu, 1989). Thanks to the highly ornamental merit of the species, now approximately nine cultivars (especially those with colorful foliage) have been traded as groundcover or hanging basket plants in northern America and Europe. The showy foliage and yellow flowers also lend potential for using the cultivars in year-round production as potted plants as a result of the environmental control research of flowering and growth of the species (Zhang et al., 1995). Although the wild-type L. congestiflora usually has green foliage, some variations with colorful foliage in the wild are valuable to be exploited. This article reports a new colorful foliage cultivar selected from wild variations in L. congestiflora.