Polygonatum prattii
I first encountered this charming dwarf Solomon’s seal in 1996 near Zhongdian, China at the sub-alpine elevation of 12,500′. Polygonatum prattii is a miniature Solomon’s seal that forms a small clump of 6-8″ tall stems adorned with tiny leaves and, in early spring, with equally tiny dark purple flowers. Polygonatum prattii is a must for detail-oriented rock gardeners with a taste for esoteric and cute, but is essentially worthless for big-picture Olmsted wannabes.