Authors: Phil.  

Botanical Description

Neatly tufted or loosely clump-forming, 8-20cm tall spreading by rhizomes. Leaves oblong-ovate to lanceolate, bluntish to 8cm long, glandular downy, entire or lightly toothed and fringed, tapering to an indistinct stalk. The inflorescence consists of a pair of cymes which may bear one to six flowers, usually fewer for dwarf, alpine forms. Apart from C. lagunae blancae, this is the only very southerly species with flowers displaying two prominent lips, the deeply dome-shaped upper at about 1cm across, and its oblong-rounded lower counterpart 1.8 by 1cm and the same depth. The corolla shape of these two species should never be confused, but that of C. volckmannii is also pure, unmarked, bright yellow and much more closed. Although this species is very variable throughout its wide range in the wild, short-stemmed alpine forms are singularly concise, attractive and quite unlike any other species. Chile and Argentina on sunny ledges of volcanic outcrops to open deciduous woodland, on acid soils from southern central volcanoes and Lake District to southern Patagonia at 200-2500m.

C. 'Walter Shrimpton'. A hybrid between C. uniflora and C. fothergillii, but to all intents and purposes a very fine, rich chestnut coloured, white-banded example of the former which is more vigorous and easier to grow. An excellent case to support limited and responsible hybridization in alpine gardening. Propagation from cuttings. Other similar crosses have been made, dating from around the 1970s.