M. 'Edrom'
A rather unique cultivar of garden origin.
Named by: E. Stevens, 2015. Registered by: E. Stevens, 2015.
Flowering: mid-May to early July. The buds are suffused with a blackish pigmentation. The lateral facing, open saucer-shaped flowers are initially maroon in colour but gradually change to a pale sky-blue. They have a prominent narrow style and as the petals are obovate there is little petal overlap.
Emerging foliage: Upright to slightly spreading on stout, short, winged petioles. The leaf blades are broadly elliptic with scalloped margins. On emergence the blade margins and midribs are suffused with a purple pigmentation.
Mature foliage: Broadly elliptic to oblong-elliptic with a truncate or shortly attenuate base, apex obtuse or sub-obtuse. The margins of the leaf blades are regularly notched with crenate-serrate teeth.
Fruit capsule: Narrowly ellipsoid with a black-purple pigmentation and densely clothed with long straw-coloured bristles. The style is topped with a neat stigma. Sterile.
Etymology: Named ‘Edrom’ after Edrom Nurseries who previously listed this cultivar in their catalogue as “Edrom Dark” or “Edrom dark form”. Its origins are uncertain but it has been known since at least the 1990s and was once grown at Branklyn Garden, Perth.