Epimedium Violaceum Grandiflorum, Barrenwort Chromolithograph, 1859

This is an original antique botanical print, a chromolithograph printed in color, lettered "EPIMEDIÙM VIOLACEUM Morr. & Decne. VAR GRANDIFLORUM." Thin, branching reddish stems with fine hairs rise from the lower left and carry heart shaped, pointed leaves in green and blue green, edged with fine bristles. A loose cluster of nodding flowers hangs among them, pale mauve pink with long curved spurs and small yellow centers.

The name is lettered in capitals with the authority "Morr. & Decne." (Morren and Decaisne) and the variety grandiflorum, meaning large flowered; a small accent mark over the U of EPIMEDIÙM marks the stressed syllable. At lower left the artist's line reads "A. J. Wendel, ad. viv." (drawn from life by A. J. Wendel), and at lower right "Imp. Lith. de L. Stroobant à Gand." (printed at the lithographic press of L. Stroobant in Ghent). No plate number is printed on this plate.

The plate comes from the second volume of the Annales d'horticulture et de botanique, ou Flore des jardins du royaume des Pays-Bas, published at Leiden by A. W. Sythoff in 1859 for the Société royale d'horticulture des Pays-Bas under the patronage of King William III. The journal recorded cultivated and ornamental plants grown in the Netherlands and introduced from the Dutch possessions in the East Indies, from America and from Japan. L. Stroobant was a lithographer working in Ghent (Gand in French).

The strong color and clear drawing make it a good choice for a study, a garden room or a hallway, framed singly or in a group of plates from the same work.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.