Albuca shawii

Diane Whitehead voltaire@islandnet.com
Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:10:18 PDT
On 15-Sep-11, at 5:52 PM, Mary Sue Ittner wrote:

> From Mountain Flowers by Elsa Pooley:
> Albuca shawii
> 150-400 mm. on cliffs, in rocky grassland, up to 2400 m. E Cape to
> Limpopo Prov. Leaves covered with **short sticky hairs**. Flowers
> few, more or less 15 mm, yellow, **nodding**, scented (Sep-Feb.)
>
> ** is used to indicate the important distinguishing features
>


It looks as though we have a good selection in cultivation, then, as  
it does not have "few" flowers, but about a dozen, each on a long  
pedicel so that the flowers are held gracefully out from the stem.

Yes, the short sticky hairs are distinctive, and the leaves smell  
good.  I have seen different descriptions of the scent, some saying  
like anise.  I think it smells more like a conifer, so I went around  
the yard, pinching the needles on all my conifers, and decided it was  
most like Alberta spruce - Picea glauca.

(I've just looked this up, and back east they consider this spruce  
smells like a skunk.  I can assure you neither my Alberta spruce nor  
my Albuca smell bad.)

Mine flowered in three years from seed.

Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
cool mediterranean climate
moderate dry summers, moderate rainy winters
68 cm rain (27 in)






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