Common Name for the Doronicum Orientale

Other "Leopard's Bane"

• Arnica ontana, another plant sometimes called leopard’s bane, superficially resembles Doronicum orientale but is more commonly called wolf’s bane, mountain arnica or mountain tobacco. Aconitum lycoctonum, also known as wolf’s bane or northern wolf’s bane, bears no resemblance to leopard’s bane although it too is sometimes called that common name. The word bane comes from the fact that all these plants contain varying degrees of toxic alkaloids. Folk myth has it that leopards, wolves or other animals avoid them.

Environment

• Leopard’s bane likes moderately moist, well-drained ground and grows naturally in shady, rocky places and in woodlands. You can easily grow it under trees, but there are cultivars that thrive in full sun and are more suitable for borders. It requires early summer sunlight and will tolerate stony ground. Leopard’s bane goes dormant in summer heat, but you can compensate for this by over-planting it with annual flowers in the Impatiens or Lobelia genera or other annuals that have shallow roots.

Description

• Growing from a thick underground stem called a rhizome, leopard’s bane yields a single flowerhead containing lemon-yellow flowers on an upright stem.
  Leopard’s bane grows 12 to 24 inches tall. A smaller cultivar, "Little Leo" (Doronicum orientale “Little Leo”), grows from 14 to 18 inches high, spreading 12 to 24 inches wide.

Flowering

• Known as a "spring ephemeral," meaning it has a short blooming period, leopard's bane blooms from mid to late spring. The early blooming of its daisy-like flowers attracts butterflies and other pollinating insects looking for nectar when there are not many blossoms to choose from. Leopard bane’s soft, rounded leaves remain green until autumn frost.