Leaves:

• ternately compound
• cordate
• serrulate, can have sharp points
• palmately veined
• petiole is long thin and wiry-looking

Flowers:

• small, nodding in inflorescences
• radial
• perfect
• yellow, purple, pink, or white
• sepals, 2 whorls of 4 each, outer ones fall early, inner ones petal-like
• petals 4, flat or spur-like
• stamens 4, anthers open from flaps at the base

Fruit:

• capsule w/ several seeds
• seeds have fleshy aril
• not commonly seen

Other notes:

• perennials 0.5-1.5 ft.
• evergreen or deciduous ground-cover
• has creeping rhizomes
• in gardens:
  • good in dry shade
  • cut back in late winter to early spring for nice looking growth
• botanical supplement widely used as a tonic, aphrodisiac and anti-rheumatic in China, Japan, and Korea for more than 2,000 years
• genus name is of unclear origin and meaning
• pinnatus – Latin for feathered in probably reference to leaf shape

Ecology & Adaptations:

• example in the WA Arboretum: E. pinnatum ssp. colchicum ‘Thunderbolt’
  • Native to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey
  • found in the woodland areas of the Caucasus Mtns near the Black Sea and Caspian Sea
• very shade tolerant:
  • thin leaves create largest light-absorbing area possible with minimal investment in leaf tissue
  • leaves oriented horizontally to capture light
  • evergreen leaves permit photosynthesizing before canopy leaves emerge overhead.
• drought tolerant
  • in E. pubescens, relative water content decreases slightly but is otherwise maintained above 70%
  • membrane degradation is prevented via the production of cell defense enzymes
• Vegetative reproduction via rhizomes forms clumps
• pollination by bees Compounds (glycosides, etc.) prevent microbial infection and help defend against herbivory