GerryF, no rights reserved (CC0) · iNaturalist
Adoxa spp.
moschatel
Temperate Northern Hemisphere (Europe, Asia, north-western North America)
Overview
Adoxa spp. is a genus of small rhizomatous woodland perennials, centred on A. moschatellina, a spring plant of shaded, moist soils across the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere. The whole plant stands just 2-6 inches (5-15 cm) tall. Long-stalked basal leaves rise from a slender, scaly rhizome and are divided into rounded, lobed leaflets, soft and light green. In early spring each thin flowering stem is topped by a tight, cube-shaped head of usually five tiny greenish-yellow flowers: four face outwards to the sides and one points straight up, an arrangement that gives the plant its names of town-hall clock and five-faced bishop. The flowers carry a faint musky scent, strongest in the cool of evening, which is the source of the names moschatel and muskroot. The genus is a spring ephemeral, flowering and setting seed early before the tree canopy closes, then dying back by midsummer to the rhizome. It needs cool, damp, humus-rich, shaded ground and disappears from dry, sunny, or disturbed sites. Plants spread slowly into low colonies by their brittle rhizomes.
Native Range
Adoxa spp. is native across the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere, through much of Europe, northern and central Asia, and locally in north-western North America. It grows in damp deciduous and mixed woodland, along shaded stream banks, and in hedge bottoms on moist, leaf-rich soils.Suggested Uses
Grown in woodland, shade, and native-plant gardens as a small spring ground-layer plant beneath shrubs and trees. It suits naturalistic and ephemeral spring plantings with other woodlanders rather than open borders. Its low colonies fill shaded, moist corners that many plants will not tolerate.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height2" - 6"
Width/Spread4" - 1'
Reaches mature size in approximately 2 years
Bloom Information
Flowering is brief and early, from about April to May, before the woodland canopy leafs out. The small green flower heads are easy to miss against the leaf litter. By early summer the plant has set seed and the top growth withers away.
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
light greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Tolerates up to 4 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight