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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) (Carrots) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Green |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Height: 3-5 feet |
| Width: 3-5 feet |
| Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Mathiasella bupleuroides (Green Dream) - A large erect clumping evergreen (in our climate) herbaceous perennial that rises from a woody base to 3 to 4 feet or more tall and sprawls to as wide with branched stems bearing large mid-green lobed lightly-serrated leaves. In mid spring to early summer it bears large terminal umbels of small green flowers contained within leafy involucres, which persist into autumn, becoming pink-tinted with age. This unusual plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae), or umbellifers as they are often called, has separate male and female flowers with small petals subtending the male flowers, while female flowers usually lack petals, but both types are within the showy corolla-like involucres. Plant in full coastal sun to light shade and give regular to only occasional irrigation - surprisingly drought tolerant in coastal shade gardens. Has proven hardy and evergreen to 25°F in our garden and reported even hardier - in colder areas it likely is more of a deciduous herbaceous perennial. Some caution about avoiding cold and wet conditions and note a requirement for good drainage to avoid having plants remain overly wet in winter. Mathiasella bupleuroides is often listed as being discovered by Mildred Mathias (1906-1995), a world renowned botanist and Director of the UCLA Botanic garden, but though named in her honor, she did not discover it. Mathiasella bupleuroides was published in 1954 in "The American Journal of Botany" (American Journal of Botany, Vol. 41, No. 1pp. 56-58) by Lincoln Constance and C. Leo Hitchcock where they noted "The discovery of a strikingly unique Mexican plant referable - we are convinced - to no previously described genus of Umbelliferae, is, then, an event of importance. In placing this remarkable find officially on record, it seems to us appropriate to dedicate the genus to an outstanding American student of this difficult but fascinating family." The plant sent to Lincoln Constance at UC Berkeley was discovered growing on the east and south slopes as well as the summit of Pena Nevada in Tamaulepis in 1949 by L. R. Stanford, L. A. Taylor (Mrs. Richard E. Norris) and S. M. Lauber (Mrs. Douglas M. Post). The name 'Green Dream' is sometimes listed as a cultivar but it is not clear whether this name is a selection or just applied to the species - we list it here as a common name. The specific epithet means "like Buplerum" in recognition that it has visual similarities to Buphlerum, another genus of plants in the Apiaceae that has worldwide distribution. The name Buphlerum was a name Linnaeus gave to the genus that has origins from the Greek words 'bous' meaning "ox" and 'pleuron' meaing "ribs" or "stripes" and thought to refer to parallel veins in the leaves. We first received this plant in 1999 from Roger Raiche, then at the UC Berkeley Botanic Garden and for several years had it planted in our garden. Our thanks go out to Carol Bornstein for supplying seed for some of our crops but now we rely on our own garden plant and it is hit or miss so we may go a year or two without having this plant available.
This information about Mathiasella bupleuroides displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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