Fwd: Haemanthus

Hannon othonna@gmail.com
Mon, 05 Nov 2012 08:36:57 PST
Chris,

The plant with a solitary subterranean bulb is interesting. Snijman (1984)
says nothing about the bulbs of H. albiflos growing above or below ground
but the commonly seen material in California grows with bulbs naturally
above the soil. Is your Port Elizabeth plant representative of a population
or is it just an odd individual?

Pertinent to recent discussions, Snijman has this to say about variation in
pubescence in H. albiflos:

"*Recent collections have shown however, that the entire range, from hairy
to glabrous forms, exists within a very small area*."

This demonstrates the important point made here by various writers that
often a species cannot be characterized by a single individual that is
known in cultivation. Some variation seems "impossible" until it is
witnessed in the field.


Dylan Hannon



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