(Japanese Ardisia, Marlberry)

This low, suckering, evergreen shrub is native to East Asia. Its glossy, toothed, dark green leaves cluster in whorls at the stem tips. Pale pink summer flowers give rise to clusters of bright red berries in fall and winter. Several variegated cultivars have been selected.

Marlberry does best in shade and humus-rich acid soil. It makes an excellent ground cover, foundation plant, or potted specimen.

(Hakuokan Japanese Ardisia, Japanese Ardisia, Marlberry)

Marlberry is a low, suckering, evergreen shrub native to East Asia. The cultivar 'Hakuokan' has whorled gray-green leaves with powder-white, slightly scalloped margins. Pale pink summer flowers give rise to clusters of bright red berries in fall and winter.

Marlberry does best in shade and humus-rich acid soil. It makes an excellent ground cover, foundation plant, or potted specimen.

(Japanese Ardisia, Marlberry, Red Tide Japanese Ardisia)

Marlberry is a low, suckering, evergreen shrub native to East Asia. The cultivar 'Red Tide' has whorled dark green leaves with yellow centers, borne on red stems. Pale pink summer flowers give rise to clusters of bright red berries in fall and winter.

Marlberry does best in shade and humus-rich acid soil. It makes an excellent ground cover, foundation plant, or potted specimen.

(Japanese Ardisia, Marlberry, Variegated Japanese Ardisia)

Marlberry is a low, suckering, evergreen shrub native to East Asia. The cultivar 'Variegata' has whorled gray-green leaves with creamy white, slightly scalloped margins. Pale pink summer flowers give rise to clusters of bright red berries in fall and winter.

Marlberry does best in shade and humus-rich acid soil. It makes an excellent ground cover, foundation plant, or potted specimen.

(Japanese Ardisia, Marlberry, White Caps Japanese Ardisia)

Marlberry is a low, suckering, evergreen shrub native to East Asia. The cultivar 'White Caps' has whorled glossy dark leaves with creamy white, slightly indented margins. Pale pink summer flowers give rise to clusters of bright red berries in fall and winter.

Marlberry does best in shade and humus-rich acid soil. It makes an excellent ground cover, foundation plant, or potted specimen.

(Flatbud Pricklypoppy, Pricklepoppy)

The enormous white crepe paper flowers are beguilingly at odds with the rest of this prickly short-lived perennial from dry regions of western North America. Borne on stout spiny stems that can vary from calf- to waist-high, the white, four- to six-petaled blooms open from bristly buds in late spring and summer. A powderpuff cluster of numerous yellow stamens ornaments the center of each flower. The blossoms are held above handsome dense clumps of deeply lobed gray-green leaves that are prickly on...

(Amur Jack-in-the-pulpit)

Arisaema amurense is a tuberous herbaceous perennial native to Northeast Asia. In late spring, it bears a purple- and white-striped spathe with a green spadix, overtopped by one or two large, spoked, compound leaves. Bright red berries ornament the spadix in fall.

This plant prefers moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil and partial shade. It makes an excellent addition to a shade garden.

(White-spathed Jack-in-the-pulpit)

One of the last herbaceous perennials to emerge in spring, Arisaema candidissimum is a tuberous aroid native to western China. In early summer it bears a white spathe with pink or pale green stripes, enclosing a greenish spadix. The flowers are sweetly fragrant. Large, handsome, three-lobed leaves accompany the flowers. Fruiting rarely occurs in cultivation.

Plant in full sun to partial shade in a moist, well drained soil. It is one of the most striking plants for the shade garden.

(Green Dragon)

Arisaema dracontium is a tuberous herbaceous perennial native to eastern North America. In mid-spring it bears a narrow, cupped, green spathe, from which a long yellowish green spadix protrudes like a dragon's tongue. A large compound leaf with 7 to 19 leaflets overtops the spathe and spadix. Bright red berries ornament the spadix in late summer and fall.

This plant prefers moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil and partial shade. It makes an excellent addition to the woodland garden.

(Japanese Jack-in-the-pulpit)

Arisaema ehimense is a tuberous herbaceous perennial native to the island of Shikoku, Japan. In late spring it bears a green- and white-striped spathe with a purple or pale green spadix, accompanied by two large compound leaves. The spathe has a long tail-like appendage at its tip. Bright orange berries ornament the spadix in late summer and fall.

This plant prefers moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil and partial shade. It makes an excellent addition to a shade garden.