Chiastophyllum oppositifolium

Chiastophyllum oppositifolium, also known as Gold Drop, is a perennial succulent plant, fleshy and evergreen, which adorns itself in late spring and summer with trailing clusters of small yellow flowers. It is a plant native to the mountains of the Caucasus, loving shade and coolness, which is not suggested by its fleshy foliage. This wild and precious plant is ideal for cool and shaded rock gardens.

Chiastophyllum oppositofolium belongs to the family of Crassulaceae. It is native to mountainous areas located west of the Caucasus. Fresh rock crevices are its natural habitat. This plant grows as a trailing mat, reaching a height of 15 to 20 centimeters (6 to 8 inches), with indefinite spreading. Flowering occurs in June, with yellow five-petal flowers, arranged in initially upright, then trailing clusters, reminiscent of lily-of-the-valley. Its leaves are evergreen, fleshy, round, coarsely toothed, of a beautiful bright green, with the lower ones tinged with rust. The plant develops from a rhizome.

Plant Gold Drop in a partially shaded rock garden, in the company of saxifrages (Saxifraga stolonifera), Ramonda, Lewisia, and bergenia, under a bench, near a waterfall, in cracks of walls and retaining walls that it will subtly brighten. It also makes a good ground cover.