toadlily Interesting Notes

Its style (as in a plant's sexual parts) looks like a giraffe's neck, its anthers look like the eyes on a slug, its stamens arch like showerheads, and its six differently shaded petals (actually tepals) alternate like men and women at a dinner table. This whole surrealistic fantasy stands on three pairs of green rubber boots (swollen spurs that are part of the petals), which, kicked three times, reveal the source of the plant's Latin name: tri, meaning three, and kyrtos, meaning humped. Ketzel Levine

Common name either from spotted flowers resembling toads, or to use in Phillipines by native tribes to run on hands as a frog attractant before collecting frogs; genus name from Greek words for three and convex, referring to shape of 3 outer tepals. Perry's Perennial Pages

Tricyrtis formosana 'Samurai' Growing and Maintenance Tips

Grow in part shade in well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Water well on planting and regularly until established. Cut back to refresh foliage.

Good Substitutions

Tricyrtis 'Sinonome'

Tricyrtis formosana 'Gilt Edge'