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Chrysosplenium oppositifolium

Common name:	Golden Saxifrage	Family:	Saxifragaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western and central Europe, including Britain, from Norway to Spain, east to Germany and N. Italy.
Habitat:	Acid soils[200] on the banks of springs and wet shady mountainsides[5, 17, 52].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chrysoplenium oppositifolium[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Golden Saxifrage [H], Paarbladige Goudveil [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	oppositifolium = leaves opposite
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Saxifrage family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.15m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from April to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies and beetles. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 5, 8, 17, 52, 61, 66]. Added to salads or soups[183]. The leaves are rather small, and there is a distinct bitterness in the flavour, especially in hot weather[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Ground cover.

The plants creeping habit makes it a good ground cover for the bog garden[200].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils if they are moist. Requires a constantly wet but well-drained soil[200]. Prefers a shady position, succeeding in woodland[17, 200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame. Stand the pot in 2cm of water. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a tray of water in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Chrysoplenium oppositifolium (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for the family Saxifragaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[8] Ceres. Free for All. Thorsons Publishers 1977 ISBN 0-7225-0445-4
Edible wild plants in Britain. Small booklet, nothing special.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[66] Freethy. R. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press 1985 ISBN 0-946284-51-2
Very readable, giving details on plant uses based on the authors own experiences.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Chrysosplenium+oppositifolium
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