This cultivar of unidentified parentage was originated by David Stone of Connecticut and registered on his behalf by Peter Ruh of Ohio in 1991. It is a small size plant growing about 9 inches high with a spread of 25 inches. The leaves start the season gold in color but change to chartreuse as the season progresses. Purple flowers bloom in July.

An article titled The Hosta Legacy of the Late David Stone appeared in the 1985 issue of what was then called The American Hosta Society Bulletin. The article was authored by Stone's former partners in the Piedmont Gardens nursery in Waterbury, Connecticut, F. Henry Payne and Philip R. Payne. "H. 'Emerald Gem' was named in 1979. It is accustomed to making a good small clump very rapidly, showing its deep green leaves to good advantage. Its flower stalk reaches nine inches and it has lavender flowers." This is one of the so-called David Stone's Miniatures.

In

The Hosta Journal (1992 Vol. 23 No. 1) there is an article by Peter Ruh about the so-called David Stone Medium or Miniature hostas which went by a numbering system that started with DSM. This cultivar was called DSM #8 and was described as "Small, compact, spreading plant, yellow triangular-shaped leaves, glossy back, stain-sheen, rippled, turns emerald green as summer progresses, flowers lavender, named by Payne."