Bupleurum angulosum

Perennial of the Apiaceae family, Bupleurum angulosum is a species from the mountains of southwestern Europe, mainly found in the Pyrenees and the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It occupies rock gardens, stabilized screes, rock crevices, and stony alpine meadows, generally between 1,200 and 2,400 meters, on well-drained calcareous or siliceous substrates and strongly exposed to the sun.

It develops an upright and slender tuft, reaching 20 to 50 cm in height, with angular and rigid stems, a characteristic that gives it its specific epithet. The foliage is particularly original in the genus: the leaves, entire and glaucous, are perfoliate, meaning that the stem seems to pass through them completely, forming elliptical discs of a frosted blue-green with a very architectural effect.

The flowers are gathered in umbels of great delicacy, borne at the top of the branched stems. Each umbellule is framed by large rounded bracts, glaucous and translucent like the rest of the foliage, forming a small blue-green cup in the center of which open tiny very pale yellow-green flowers, almost cream. The whole, with an almost monochrome tone, draws its charm from the finesse of its construction rather than the brilliance of its color.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from July to August. In cultivation, it generally occurs in June-July.

It requires perfectly drained soil, poor to moderately fertile, in full sun exposure; it tolerates summer drought well once established. Its combination of glaucous perfoliate foliage and yellow umbels makes it a unique plant for rock gardens and gravel gardens.