Authors: L.  

Botanical Description

Perennial often with only one rosette, but the garden varieties usually form clumps. Leaves deciduous, ovate to elliptic, 10-25cm or more long, prominently veined, entire or irregularly toothed and longish-stalked. Scapes longer than leaves. Spikes more than half of length of scape, tapered, green, late spring to autumn. Europe and naturalised worldwide as a weed. P.m. 'Rosularis' has the flower spike reduced to a rosette of petal-like green bracts. P.m. 'Rosularis Rubrifolia' has the leaves and bracts suffused red-purple, while 'Atropurpurea' has normal spikes and bronze-purple leaves. All are too coarse for the rock garden.