Epimedium x rubrum

Native to China, Japan and southwest Europe, the genus Epimedium contains many different forms, all with similar, nodding flower heads in a variety of colours

Denise Bush

Thursday, 27 February 2025, 13:19

Epimedium x rubrum is a shade loving perennial and member of the barberry family Berberaceae. It has many common names including red barrenwort, bishop's hat, fairy wings, yin yang huo and horny goat's weed.

Native to China, Japan and southwest Europe, the genus Epimedium contains many different forms, all with similar, nodding flower heads in a variety of colours.

Red barrenwort has racemes of rosy-red bracts, with snow-white petals in the centre surrounding creamy-yellow stamens. They look very delicate, held on narrow stems above the foliage.

The leaves of this species are pointed and heart-shaped and appear in early spring flushed with red or bronze. As they mature, and as the flowers open, they turn bright-green. Then in autumn, they start to turn reddish again. In fact, Epimedium is often sold primarily as a foliage plant.

It can be used for rockeries, ground cover, underplanting of shrubs, borders and woodland plantings. It is cold hardy and will withstand some frost, especially if mulched well around the base to protect the rhizomatous roots. It will also tolerate drought once established. Epidemium x rubrum is hardier than some of the other species as it is a cross between Asian and European varieties E grandiflorun and E. alpina.

Once mature it will spread to around 30cm wide by the same height. It needs full or dappled shade and a rich, free-draining soil and watering regularly during the summer. In the winter, if it's mild and the top growth doesn't die off, it can cut back hard so that the new growth has room to grow and will be more vigorous.

Species of Epimedium have been used medicinally for over 2,000 years by the Chinese who use it to treat anything from sexual dysfunction to osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and nephritis.

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