Meehania cordata Meehania cordataWhen James Meehan, a Philadelphia botanist died in 1901, I'm sure that he went to those big woods in the sky feeling proud that Nathaniel Lord Britton, (1859-1934), had named a genus of plants in his honor. But I wonder if he realized just how wonderful that creeping little groundcover, Meehania cordata, is.In fact, few people truly appreciate Meehania cordata.
Charles and Martha Oliver are proprietors of the Primrose Path Nursery in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and are dear friends of mine. I'd noticed that they listed Meehania cordata in their catalog. After reading their description and hearing them extol the virtues about how charming this little plant was, I asked them to please bring me one on their upcoming visit. I had requested one the year before, but it seemed that they were always sold out. So I was emphatic that I must have one, and intimated that if they didn't bring me one, they may end up sleeping in my barn that chilly autumn night.
Tiarella, Heuchera and Heucherella are the main focus of the Olivers' breeding work, so we had planned a day of Tiarella hunting in Wolfpen Hollow--a hauntingly mysterious woodland area near my farm. We'd just descended a summit into the foggy creekbottom when I heard Charles laughing hysterically behind me on the trail. I turned to see what he found so amusing and saw him pointing to the ground. There, all around him, the ground was covered with Meehan's mint.
Talk about getting caught not practicing what you preach. Me--who in all of my lectures on native plants makes a point of telling people to "look in your own backyard!" Well, after I recovered from my initial embarrassment, we looked further and found that the entire west facing slope of the hill down to the creekbed was a veritable carpet of dark, almost glossy green, cordate (heart-shaped, hence the specific epithet cordata) leaves, vining over rocks and decaying tree limbs, basking in the deep shade of the Hemlock and oak woods above the water.
I took some cuttings--not knowing whether they would root so late in the season but having a gut feeling of optimism. Sure enough, they rooted in a matter of weeks.
The following spring, I checked in on the population and found that the new growth was thick and lovely. In June I went back to observe the flowers and found a sea of lilac, pink and lavender trumpet-like blooms at the tips of the stems. They reminded me very much of Scuttellaria, another member of the mint family and a close relative of Meehania.
I over-wintered the rooted cuttings under a dark bench in a poly tunnel. Now I have a plethora ofplants in my garden. Another testament to the virtues of Meehania is how it can thrive in deep shade--I planted mine under a small grove of lilacs and viburnums. They responded to the rich humus that had accumulated under these older shrubs and almost immediatly started to wind their way along the ground.
Taxonomically speaking, Meehania cordata is a member of the Labiate (mint) family. In North America, Meehania cordata is a montypic (single) specie in the genus. Its reported range is from SW Pennsylvania to North Carolina and Tennessee. Its heart-shaped leaves are on the small side, averaging 1-1.5 " (3 cm) wide at the petiole and are about 1" (2.5 cm) long. I suspect that it is hardy to zone 4, maybe even 3.
I know of at least one other Meehania specie in cultivation, that being Meehania urticifolia, Meehania cordata's Asian cousin. It can be found growing throughout the mountain forests of the Japanese island of Honshu. The specific epithet urticifolia refers to the nettle like foliage. It's also very easy to propagate from stem cuttings and by division.
Meehania cordata is one of the best plants that I can think of for those dark and foreboding corners of the garden where light is all to scarce. Even if it didn't have the added benefit of those really bright, colorful flowers, I would recommend it as a very useful groundcover.
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