59. Pieris formosa (Wallich) D. Don ERICACEAE

This attractive, but poisonous, evergreen member of the heather family is a widespread Sino-Himalayan species occurring from Nepal to Central China. It was first introduced to gardens from the Himalaya in the mid-nineteenth century. Later introductions, of more spectacular forms (some with bright red juvenile foliage), came from China.

Hand coloured lithograph of Pieris formosa from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine t. 8283