Corydalis colquantmeyeriana Chocolate Stars

The Corydalis 'Chocolate Stars' is an extraordinary selection of corydalis with particularly colourful foliage. It appears very dark brown in spring, then gradually takes on increasingly reddish tones during the delightful light pink mauve flowering in spring. The plant retains its colouration for a long time, then gradually becomes bronze green. This beautifully cut foliage, forming a lovely bushy shrub, is particularly remarkable in the shaded rockeries that the plant loves.

The Corydalis quantmeyeriana 'Chocolate Stars', now known as Corydalis temulifolia 'Chocolate Stars', is a perennial plant with bulbous rhizomes that belongs to the Poppy family. The species grows in the Vietnamese and Chinese mountains of Sichuan, between 1300 and 2700 m (4265 and 8858ft) altitude, where it can be found in both deciduous or mixed forests, as well as on forest edges, among bushes, along streams, canals or even along roads. This Chocolate Stars selection was obtained in France from seeds collected in situ by Thierry Delabroye, then selected for its particularly decorative young chocolate brown foliage.

The 'Chocolate Stars' corydalis eventually forms a dome of foliage measuring about 40 cm (16in) in height and 50 cm (20in) in width. Its above-ground vegetation remains evergreen throughout the year in cool and humid climates but disappears in summer in hotter climates when the soil dries out. The leaves are divided into ovate and pointed leaflets with scalloped edges. Their colour is chocolate brown to reddish brown in spring; then they turn bronze and olive green in summer. They are bronze-coloured in autumn and winter. In May-June, slender and flexible stems emerge from the foliage, bearing small clusters of thin, tubular, translucent flowers in a delicate light pink mauve. When the plant has undergone summer dormancy, it develops new foliage and blooms again in October-November.

The 'Chocolate Stars' corydalis finds its place in a cool and semi-shaded rockery, on the edge of the undergrowth or in a flower bed not too exposed to the sun. It is a plant for semi-shade that thrives in the humus of forests, which is both fresh and well-drained. It can be paired with other plants that appreciate the same environments: Geranium phaeum 'Samobor', perennial macrorrhizum geraniums, lungworts, Caucasian forget-me-nots, small ferns, and of course, other corydalis and bleeding hearts.