A late flowering, ground hugging evergreen member of the sweet scented genera Daphne; Daphne blagayana  is just now opening its spear shaped buds.

Terminal sulphur yellow flower buds turn frosty white as they open up. Under a hand lens the crinkly iced surface of the corolla tube is evident. Enclosed within are the flower parts, anthers, laden with pollen are held at two stages within the tube. Whereas the stigma is buried deep at the base of the corolla. A reliable plant to flower when in a well drained alkaline soil in partial shade.

A native of the Balkans where, legend has it, Count Blagay was instrumental in the naming of this then new species, in Slovenia in 1837.

Daphne blagayana

Daphne blagayana