Amanogawa or Milky Way Aspidistra. This is a most unusual cultivar and we had originally classified it as an Aspidistra elatior cultivar, but it has since been determined to be A. vietnamemsis. Because of its variable variegated leaves, including spots and stripes, this cultivar's name is 'Amanogawa', which means "Milky Way" in Japanese, as in the galaxy of course. Its leaves can be irregularly streaked with cream yellow and also spotted with cream yellow. The leaves will always maintain their spots, but if the leaves lose their streaks, then one should remove these leaves as these reversions can start dominating a planting. I noticed a clump of this cultivar growing in a friends greenhouse in Japan under a bench of floral Cyclamen. He gave me a nice division out of his pot and I have slowly multiplied it. He had bought his specimen at a rare plant auction there several years before. The leaves will ultimately reach 18-20" tall and about 3" wide. It is ground hardy in zone 7, but one is likely to get some foliage tip burn when temperatures drop below 15°F, so one should plant in complete shade in a protected area. It has so much appeal, that it makes an excellent pot plant for indoor interest, especially in areas too cold to grow out of doors.
Zones 8-11
