Cultivar selected from Geum rivale, a perennial from the Rosaceae family native to the temperate zones of Europe, Asia, and North America. This cultivar, one of the most appreciated of the species, has been awarded an Award of Garden Merit by the RHS.
It forms upright clumps with flexible, arched stems, tinged with dark red to purple, bearing bright green foliage in well-developed basal rosettes, with pinnate leaves with a rounded and crenate terminal lobe.
The flowers are drooping, borne by long slender and colored peduncles, giving them a graceful sway at the slightest breath. The calyx is velvety purple-brown, densely hairy, and the apricot pink to salmon pink petals, broad and veined, emerge halfway from this inverted bell-shaped corolla. The contrast between the dark calyx and the light petals is particularly pronounced in this cultivar, more intense than in the type species.
In its natural habitat, the species' flowering extends from May to July. In cultivation, 'Leonard's Variety' blooms from April-May.
It thrives in fresh to moist soil, rich in humus, in partial shade or filtered light. It is suitable for undergrowth compositions, banks, and naturalistic gardens where its arched stems and drooping flowers create a presence that is both light and unique.