Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Darmera peltata (Indian rhubarb or, ambiguously, "umbrella plant") is the only species within the genus Darmera in the family Saxifragaceae. It is a slowly-spreading rhizomatous perennial from mountain streamsides in woodland in the western United States (southwestern Oregon to northwestern California). In late spring the flowers emerge before the leaves, with rounded cymes of numerous five-petalled white to bright pink flowers (measuring up to 1.5 centimeter across each) borne on flower stems up to 2 meter long. The leaves are peltate, rounded, deeply lobed, coarsely-toothed, conspicuously veined and dark green, also on stems up to 2 meter in height. The leaves turn red in autumn.

In gardens, Darmera peltata flourishes in pond margins and bog gardens, where it forms an imposing umbrella-like clump. It is suited to smaller gardens where there is no room for Gunnera manicata or Gunnera tinctoria, unrelated plants that are somewhat similar in appearance, but much larger. It is easy to grow in the cooler climates of its native range, but is not happy in hot southern areas.

D. peltata has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

2 - 7 ft Tall
2 - 3 ft Wide

Form

Mounding, Spreading

Growth rate

Slow

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

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Color

Pink, White

Flowering season

Spring, Summer, Fall

Special uses

Containers, Deer resistant, Water features or wet habitats

Sun

Partial Shade

Water

High

Summer irrigation

Keep moist

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5 - 10° F

Soil drainage

Standing

Soil description

Adaptable.

Propagation

Propogates by rhizomes. Divide the rootball and replant.

Sunset Zones

1*, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 14, 15, 16, 17*, 18, 19, 20

Site type

Rocky streambanks

Plant communities

Douglas-Fir Forest, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian

Spice Bush (Calycanthus occidentalis), Seep Monkey Flower (Erythranthe guttata), Giant Chain Fern (Woodwardia fimbriata), White Brodiaea (Triteleia hyacinthina), Field Mint (Mentha arvensis), Water Plantain (Alisma triviale), Douglas' Meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii ssp rosea), Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum)