Indian Pink

This week for Flora and Fauna Friday we have a two-toned forest flower found in the freshwater floodplains of the Edisto, Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica).

Along the banks of the South Edisto and in river valleys across the South, Indian Pink blooms each spring, peaking in May. Indian Pink is a low growing, perennial wildflower partial to moist, nutrient rich soils. It tolerates deep shade and spreads into dense clumps. Its leaves are a deep green, almost triangular in shape, and held opposite each other. Atop the foliage the flowers are held upright in one-sided spikes. Each five-petalled flower is trumpet-shaped with a crimson-red exterior and golden-yellow center. These flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds and provide a welcome flare of color to the deep understory of floodplain forests. Indian Pink is by no means a common plant but it is a native and one that is well adapted to garden conditions. It thrives in the moist, rich soils and dappled sun of a shaded garden bed and its attractive appearance, to both man and Hummingbird, ensure it will be an appreciated addition to any backyard botanical project.

Tom Austin