Lewisias

PDF

Lewisias PDF

Review

This book gives by far the most complete and detailed review of the genus so far produced. -- The Alpine Garden Society Newsletter (UK), No. 101, March 2000

Book Description

With 20 full-color botanical drawings & 67 color photographs, this guide to the genus offers up a delightful mix of horticulture, history, habitat, & hybrids.

From the Publisher

A genus of succulent plants numbering approximately twenty species, Lewisia has been adopted as a favorite by rock gardeners throughout the world. Dozens of hybrids and selections have advanced the ornamental characteristics of the genus, and many new varieties have proven to be tough charmers for the perennial border. Lewisias is that rare book that seamlessly blends various disciplines and perspectives to create a holistic picture of a botanical treasure: it is part field guide, horticultural guidebook, memoir, history, and art book.

About the Author

The late B. LeRoy (Roy) Davidson received his degree in ornamental horticulture and landscape design from Washington State University. He had a lifelong interest in native plants, and logged countless miles exploring them in western mountains. A prolific writer for the Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society, Davidson received the society’s Marcel LePiniec Award and Marvin Black Award.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Probably the single most significant factor affecting the welfare of lewisias is the snowbed. Both a refuge and a launch pad, this habitat has been crucial to the survival and dispersal of the genus, and probably to its speciation as well. So critical is this association that few species venture beyond this restricted habitat. Snowbeds exist wherever winter snow is concentrated by the action of wind. They are frequent on rocky lee slopes of the high plains and mountainsides, particularly at high latitudes and altitudes. This occurs most often in the continental interior, but David Rains Wallace (1983) perceived a parallel in the snow forest of the coastal Klamath Mountains of northern California and southwestern Oregon, a refuge for many relict species of both plants and animals, and where lewisias prosper. The snow that drifts into sheltered lees is concentrated and compacted by wind and its own weight, so that it does not melt quickly in spring, leaving snowbanks at a time when nearby land is already clear. This snow affords the plants beneath it insulation from penetration by frost, Preventing Spring Cycles of freezing and thawing that would heave small roots from the soil. When it finally melts, it provides life-giving moisture in an environment that is otherwise bleak, frigid, and dry. The air near the surface is cool and humid long after less sheltered sites are dried by sun and wind. As the short summer progresses, the snowbed site dries out to some degree, yet even after the snowbank disappears, its bed tends to remain cooler than surrounding areas into the cool days of autumn. Entering the realm of a snowbed is a magical experience. One steps out of the wind as if through an unseen wall, into a serene, balmy secret garden complete with birds, beetles, and butterflies. The alpine blossoms rest on the cool moss in the glow of pale gold mountain sunshine, and the air is filled with the scent of green growth. The frequent visitor to the Western Mountains Learns to seek these refuges, for it is here that some of the greatest treasures are to be seen, particularly among the lewisias of section Pygmaea.