Often regarded as the original E.grandiflorum 'Rose Queen' and listed as such. Common name Barrenwort/Bishops hat. John Gerard the herbalist called it barrenwort as he thought that 'being drunke it is an enemie to conception'.  The name epimedium derives from epi = upon; Media = the country of the Medes, south-west of the Caspian Sea. The main species originated in Japan and has been used medicinally for centuries as an aphrodisiac.  The Japanese name for Epimedium grandiflorum is ikari-so or ikari-gusa (ikari = anchor; so or gusa = plant, referring to the four-clawed anchor used by Japanese fishing boats which resembles the flowers' long-spurred petals). Introduced to England in 1830. One of their best features is the foliage which colours up beautifully in the Spring along with the flowers which resemble a flight of butterflies, but their autumnal tints are also decorative with a variety of attractive red or copper-brown shades. Happy in sun or shade and in any reasonable soil but prefers a cool shady position and therefore makes good ground cover under deciduous trees.