Amicia zygomeris

When plantsman Sean Hogan shared this with me under the guise of it being hardy, I had to laugh. Although Amicia zygomeris is native to the mountains of Mexico, I never expected it to survive our winters. Despite a late planting in 2004 and a severe hit-and-run with a rabid wheelbarrow, up it came in spring like nothing had happened. Amicia zygomeris is an alien-looking pea relative that makes a 7' tall, upright perennial with glaucous green foliage that folds up at night. Near the top of the fuzzy stems, the leaf axils are adorned with funny-looking, purple-stained stipules. The amicia stalks are also adorned with large, yellow, pea-like flowers throughout the summer and until frost.