Latin for Gardeners
June’s Native Maryland Plant
Gillenia trifoliata (L.) Moench
(gil-le-nee-ah try-foh-lee-AY-tuh)
Common Name: Bowman's root, Indian-physic, American ipecac, Fawn’s Breath
Gillenia trifoliata is not a plant I see in many gardens, I wonder why? This low-growing, herbaceous perennial, considered a subshrub (1), is a tough plant that can be slow to establish but grows under many conditions. I’ve planted it in both clay and sandy loam, in full sun and in moderate shade – using it as a filler with more bold textured plants and under shrubs. I’ve seen it growing naturally on a slope in a forested buffer, its trifoliate leaves, lacking stipules, help to differentiate it from a more southern and western plant in the same genus: Gillenia stipulata.
After flowering, the calyces of Gillenia spp. turn red and remain on the plants’ wiry red stems creating an attractive look long after the flower petals have dropped. In the fall the leaves turn a shade of red.
Considered an ornamental plant to gardeners, this plant is attractive to smaller bees and butterflies as well.
This plant is unusual in that its botanical name has changed multiple times and not because of reclassification (3) , but because of its association with a Clethra synonym. It was originally named Gillenia, then renamed Porteranthus trifoliatus, and then, after much debate and through a vote at the International Botanical Congress, the original name was reinstated (4). It also has many common names which can be confusing.
Whatever you choose to call it, adding Gillenia trifoliata to your garden is certain to get people talking.
1 A small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base
2 https://mtcubacenter.org/plants/pink-profusion-bowmans-root/
3 A scientific name change due to DNA analysis
4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillenia
Alison Milligan – MG/MN 2013
Watershed Steward Class 7/Anne Arundel Tree Trooper
Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)
aligmilligan@gmail.com