Havuterassi

American wake-robin grows in both North America and East Asia and the genus contains many fine shade perennials. Characteristic for all of the them is their trinity, the stem is three-edged, there are three horizontal leaves and also three petals.

Near the Terrace in Mustila in Macedonian pine forest grows American wake-robin which is the most common of cultivated wake-robins. In nature it can be found in deciduous forests of eastern North America as similar large covers as we have wood anemones. As in America everything is considered to be bigger so also American wake-robin is much more robust than wood anemone and also one of the biggest of the genus. Also the white flowers opening in June are big and wide. They rise elegantly above the leaves contrary to some other nodding flowered wake-robins. White flowers get red toning at the end of the bloom.

In North America American wake-robin growths have been severely exploited. It has been collected from the wild to medicinal or food purposes and also to the commercial plant sales.

Heartleaved foamflower with white flowers resembles the inflorescence of native False Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum bifolium) and is an excellent ground-cover for the partial shade and moist place with lacy flowers that rise above the leaves. It spreads easily with runners but not until a nuisance. It is also easy to increase from the runners.

The leaves are bright green and slightly angular heart-shaped. They are semi evergreen and they get reddish winter color. There are many cultivars of the heartleaved foamflower that have different, especially red-veined, leaf forms.

Heartleaved foamflower is native in North America where it can form large covers in mountain forests with spotted geranium (Geranium maculatum) and wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata). Heartleaved foamflower is related to coral bells (Heuchera) and their intergeneric hybrids are called foamy bells ( × Heucherella).

From the large genus of Corydalis the native in Finland are only fumewort (C. solida) and C. intermedia. Holewort is a delicate species from the Central Europe and it has reddish-purple or occasionally white flowers. The major difference to the native fumewort can be found underground. Fumeworts are tuberous plants and tuber of holewort is hollow (cava = hollow, concave).

In nature holewort is increased by seeds which the ants transport to gain from the elaiosome. After germination the developing tuber grows for four years and during that time the central of the tuber becomes hollow. When the tuber grows old the basal decomposes and the tuber will be concave, roundish ellipsoid or somewhat conical.

In Mustila holewort blooms in spring at the Terassi (Terrace) both reddish-purple and white colored. The leaves stay green and photosynthesizing even when then the seeds are matured. Thus it gains strength for the next flowering period. The holewort should be planted shade so that leaves would not wither too quickly. In any case it has fully disappeared to underground till midsummer.