Bergenia afghanica

An unresolved name with a complex nomenclatural history. Firstly, there is no formal description and few herbarium specimens to reference. Plants currently available in trade using the epithet afghanica tend to agree with the morphological description provided by Michael Wickenden in the Cally Gardens 1995-96 catalogue. This would also align with the description in Flora and Sylva (1905) which indicates a similarity to Megasealigulata (now Bergeniapacumbis).

Further investigation is required to establish the validity of the name and application of afghanica as a variety. However, the morphology of plants currently in distribution do not agree with the application of the name as a variety of B. stracheyi. It is more likely to be a form of B. ciliata or hybrid of B. ciliata and B. pacumbis. The images provided below are from a plant growing at NTS Greenbank Garden.

  • Limited provenance information available. The specific epithet suggests it may have been introduced from Afghanistan.

  • Due to the complexity of the taxonomy of this plant, a timeline of names has been provided below:

    1882: In the 1882 Pflanzen Liste from Pflanzen-Sammlung des Leichtlin’schen Gartens in Baden-Baden, the name Megasea afghanica is listed for the first time.

    1886: Gartenflora 35: 433., presents an illustration of a plant named Saxifraga stracheyi var. alba. It is said the plant was received from Max Leichtlin as Saxifraga afghanistanica, 'which one would conclude was imported from Afghanistan.'

    1905: The epithet afghanica appears in Flora and Sylva in 1905 as Megasea var. afghanica, with a brief description stating that it is 'a little plant in some respects, approaching M. ligulata but distinct in its smaller flowers which are nearly white on first expanding, deepening to pale rose with exposure.'

    1919: L.H. Bailey in The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture (1919) applies the designation Hort. to B. stracheyi var. alba, including S. afghanica (Aitch & Hemsl), S. afghanistantica (Leicht.) and M. afghanica.

    1928: Bergenia afghanica is listed alongside Saxifraga afghanica (a Kabschia saxifrage native to Afghanistan, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan and S. Qinghai and S. Xizang in China, and which is still accepted today) in Plantes nouvelles ou critiques des serres du Museum. The designation Hort. is applied to B. afghanica here.

    1930: The name Bergenia stracheyi var. afghanica is first recorded in Die Gartenstauden. The designation Hort. is also applied to M. afghanica here.

    1941: The only known herbarium specimen of Bergenia afghanica from the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium dated to 17th April 1941.

    1963-68: Bergenia afghanica is listed for sale in Will Ingwersen’s nursery catalogues.

    1970: Peter Yeo’s Supplementary list of cultivars of Bergenia notes that B. afghanica is '[probably intended for B. stracheyi] B. stracheyi var.'

    1995-96: In the Cally Gardens 1995-96 catalogue, Michael Wickenden lists 'Bergenia ciliata Smaller Form and notes that it "arrived labelled B. stracheyi afghanica but the large round leaves bristly on both surfaces suggest B. ciliata."

    2024: Bergenia stracheyi Afghanica is sold by Atelier du Vegetal in France and Koru Gardens in New Zealand. A specimen is also growing at the Höxter Botanical Garden in Germany. The latter matches the description given by Michael Wickenden above.

afghanica flowers March 26.jpg