Rodgersia podophylla

Rodgersia podophylla is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family native to Japan and Korea. Growing to 2 m tall and broad, it is a herbaceous perennial with handsome spiky leaves, and occasional creamy-white flower panicles in June and July. It is extensively grown for ornamental use in gardens where it prefers damp shady positions on neutral to acid soils. Though hardy to -20 C it enjoys a sheltered location. It is chosen primarily for its clumps of large 5- or 7-toothed palmate leaves, which open bronze, turning green in summer and bronze-red in autumn. It can spread by underground rhizomes, eventually covering a large area.

The compact cultivar 'Rotlaub' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.