Paris polyphylla Seeds | Herb Paris

Paris polyphylla seed

LATIN NAME: Paris polyphylla

COMMON NAME: Herb Paris

Plant Profile

Paris polyphylla, commonly known as Herb Paris, is a low, perennial in the bunchflower family. It spreads slowly by creeping rhizome into a small colony, and it stands cold winters and deep, moist, leafy soils well. Plant it in full sun with deep, fertile ground. Together these qualities explain its long-standing appeal to gardeners.

Science & Biotechnology

Botanists studying the bunchflower family regularly include Paris polyphylla in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. The species has also been studied in botany, since it is a striking member of the bunchflower family. Centuries of cultivation have left a detailed record of how it grows and behaves.

Uses & Benefits

Herb Paris brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Ecologically, many-leaved paris is a quiet and distinctive plant of mountain forest. Its strange, spider-like flowers feed insects of shade, and its bold whorl of leaves gives cover, while it is a treasured member of cool forests of eastern Asia. Its economic value is real, though it must be handled with care. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.

Paris polyphylla, Chong Lou, is a potent Chinese herb for heat toxins and snakebite, and its steroidal saponins, the polyphyllins, are actively studied in oncology research; it is powerful and toxic, strictly a professional herb and a collector’s shade jewel.

Growing from Seed

Herb Paris is one of those generous plants that come along well from seed. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in full sun with steady moisture. Transplant the sturdiest seedlings to their permanent spots and let them develop without disturbance.

Our Take

Among the Paris group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. Few garden plants carry such a documented history of use as this one does. Careful watering early on is rewarded by toughness at maturity.

Herb Seeds