Piggyback Plant (Tolmiea menziesii)

Piggyback plant is a charming woodland perennial for shady, moist gardens, and can also be grown in containers and as a houseplant. It spreads through rhizomes to create a lush carpet of attractive, heart-shaped leaves, which tend to stay green year round. Patches of piggyback plant are very eye-catching when in bloom, with racemes of small, peculiar flowers with wispy petals, held high above the foliage. The name 'piggyback plant' refers to one of the ways in which it reproduces: it grows plantlets at the juncture of petiole and leaf, which take root once they touch soil.

Sun Exposure: Shade to part shade
Soil & Moisture: Moist but well-drained, humus-rich soil
Mature Size: 1'-2' tall, spreads by rhizomes
Bloom Time: Spring to summer
Edible: No
Wildlife Value: Attracts beneficial insects and pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Native Range & Habitat: Moist forests and shaded riparian areas at low to middle elevations. Native to the west coast from Alaska to California.
Other Names: Youth on age, thousand mothers