Beesia
Beesia is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family. It was named in 1915 after the plant nursery firm Bees of Chester, who financed the plant hunting trips of George Forrest and Frank Kingdon-Ward in China. Species. There are two species of "Beesia": Description. Morphology. Beesia is an evergreen perennial and grows as a dense basal rosette of heart-shaped leaves with delicate serrated edges. Leaves are soft and waxy; new growth of "B. deltophylla" flushes dark green to black, while "B. calthifolia" is a lighter shade of green. Small white flowers bloom mid-summer off  an upright spike. Flowers are star-like: although "Beesia" flowers do not have petals, they do have 5 elliptic, petal-like sepals. Flowers also have many stamens. Phytochemistry. A class of organic molecules termed "beesiosides" have been isolated from "Beesia" plants. Beesiosides are cycloartane glycosides (a type of triterpene that forms a sugar and a non-sugar upon hydrolysis). Phylogeny. "Anemonopsis", a monotypic genus in the Ranunculaceae native to Japan, is a sister group to "Beesia." "Eranthis" and "Actaea" are also closely related to "Beesia". Uses. Ornamental. "Beesia" is easily divided or grown from seed, and can be grown in  USDA hardiness zones 6a to 8b. It grows best in partial shade or filtered light in rich, moist soil. Medicinal. "Beesia" rhizomes are used in Chinese herbal medicine as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and influenza. External links.