Mystery Strumaria

Diana Chapman rarebulbs@suddenlink.net
Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:39:57 PDT
I recently posted on Strumaria on my blog:  http://www.thebulbmaven.typepad.com/, 
with pictures of several species.

I have Snijman's "Systematics of Hessea, Strumaria and Carpolyza".  Even so, 
I find it difficult to distinguish between Hessea and Strumaria.  The main 
differences are that the filaments in Hessea are free from the style, 
whereas in Strumaria they are attached at the base, and the base of the 
style is usually swollen.  Having said that, even slicing up flowers with a 
scalpel and looking at them under a magnifying lens I still am not quite 
sure on some of them.

Your picture could be S. discifera, but also resembles some other species in 
my collection, including a couple that I can't positively identify.  Snijman 
says that the leaves should be long and lanceolate, channelled tepals and a 
bulbiform to discoid swelling at the base of the style.  The leaves are 
covered with hairs on both surfaces (but there are others with hairy 
leaves).

Diana
Telos Rare Bulbs
http://www.telosrarebulbs.com/ 


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