Perfoliate Bellwort

Uvularia perfoliata

Perfoliate Bellwort is one of spring's quieter woodland charms. the stem appears to grow straight through each leaf, giving the foliage a perforated, pierced look that makes it immediately recognizable on the forest floor. The pale yellow pendant flowers appear in April, hanging like small, twisted lanterns below the arching stems. It's smaller and more delicate than Large-flowered Bellwort, topping out at about a foot and a half in good conditions, and spreading slowly by rhizome to form intimate colonies in the right shade garden. Plant Perfoliate Bellwort beneath deciduous trees where the soil stays moist and humus-rich. under oaks, maples, or tulip poplars. It's at home among other spring ephemerals: trout lily, spring beauty, trillium. The foliage persists through summer, staying green and tidy until frost. Like most woodland natives, it rewards patience over the first few seasons as it establishes its root system, then spreads reliably outward from there.