Ligularia

Ligularia - Large perennials, remarkable for bold foliage, one or two of great size, and strikingly distinct aspect, though not quite beautiful in flower. L. macrophylla is vigorous, with an erect stem nearly 3 1/2 feet high, and very large glaucous leaves, the yellow flowers borne in a long spike. Free, moist, and somewhat peaty soil is the most suitable for this plant, which is multiplied by careful division in autumn or in spring; it is useful for grouping with fine-leaved herbaceous plants, but will seldom find a place in the select flower garden. Caucasus. L. sibirica, Fiscieri, and thyrsoidea are fine-leaved plants, and worth growing with L. macrophylla for their foliage. The Japanese species, L. Kaempferi and Hodgsoni, are better grown under glass, except in summer, when they may be used among fine-leaved plants, in the sub-tropical garden; but the hardy kinds are most interesting. Syn. Senecio.