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From Pterostylis on Thursday 27th of August 2026 05:08:38 PM PDT
Pterostylis dilatata A.S.George, syn. Linguella dilatata (A.S.George) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. is known as the robust snail orchid. It is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. Flowering plants lack a rosette but have a single green and white flower on a flowering stem 5–15 cm (2–6 in) tall. The first two photos from iNaturalist were taken by ramcad1 and sarraj in Western Australia in July and June and shared under a CC BY-NC license. The last photo was photographed by Bob Rutemoeller in a forested area in southwestern Western Australia September 2007. Malcolm Thomas suspects it is this species.
From Hesperocallis on Wednesday 26th of August 2026 05:02:00 PM PDT
Hesperocallis undulata A.Gray, commonly known as the Desert Lily, has deep seated, tunicated bulbs, glaucous leaves and straight stout stems. Flowers are large, white with a silver or green midstripe and are fragrant, especially at night. Height range: to about 60 cm. Found in sandy flats of creosote brush desert scrub in some of the most arid regions of North America (deserts of southeastern California, Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and southwesten Arizona), it flowers only after infrequent rains. Because this "Desert Lily" is very beautiful, bulb fanciers would love to bring it into horticulture. The seeds germinate easily in winter when grown in a well-drained mix. It is important to keep the seedlings in growth and not allow them to go dormant. Once the seedlings go dormant, getting them to break dormancy is a challenge. Even a few who have gotten them to come into growth again have not had success in getting plants to bloom. How to grow this plant is a recurring topic of the PBS list see here. If anyone ever gets it to bloom in cultivation and reports how they did it, we will add your techniques. Photos below were taken by Jamie Boothe in January in the scenic area between Salton Sea and Borrego Springs, probably less than 10 miles west of the Salton Sea.
The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen in late March 2010 in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Seasonal weather averages for this area is (night/day) 41-70 °F (5-21 °C) from December to February, 70-100 °F (21-37 °C) in June and 75-105 °F (24-45 °C) in July-September. Regardless of the time of year, the day-night fluctuation is usually around 30 degrees F (16 degrees C). These temperature fluctuations could be a clue to successfully growing this species.
The following photos were taken by John Longanecker April 1, 2005 near Baker in the Mojave Desert preserve and near 29 Palms, CA. Note the variation in the grey streak on the petals.
From Kohleria on Tuesday 25th of August 2026 06:19:00 PM PDT
Kohleria warszewiczii (Regel) Hanst. is native to Colombia. Height: to about 2 ft. The photos below were taken by J. Schofield.
From Favorite White Flowered Bulbs on Monday 24th of August 2026 06:36:43 PM PDT
Crinum 'White Queen' -- flowered last year for me and was awesome, Kevin Preuss, Florida.
From Brodiaea Species Two on Sunday 23rd of August 2026 06:35:45 PM PDT
Brodiaea sierrae R.E.Preston is a diploid species from the Sierra Nevada foothills of California (Butte, Yuba, and Napa counties) where it grows in chaparral, cismontane woodland, and lower montane coniferous forest often on serpentine soils between 50 and 980 m (most species between 320 and 945 m.) Growing from 20 to 80 cm, it has violet ascending flowers with recurved tips and flowers May to August. It was previous included in Brodiaea californica and is similar to Brodiaea leptandra, a species formerly (and still by some authorities) considered a subspecies or variety of Brodiaea californica. It has larger flowers than those other two species with lobes up to 53 mm long and different staminodes from Brodiaea california. It has staminodes that are uniformly wide and recurved only at the tip with entire margins 1/4 inrolled. Brodiaea californica has staminodes that are recurved from the middle and narrow at the apex with undulate-dentate margins. Photos from Calflora taken by David Greenberger and Steve Laymon in Butte County and shared under a CC BY-NC license.
From Favorite Purple Flowered Bulbs on Saturday 22nd of August 2026 09:40:57 PM PDT
Colchicum -- is one of my favorite plants, and sometimes they look purple, sort of... Jim Shields in central Indiana, USDA Zone 5.
From Homeria on Friday 21st of August 2026 06:13:31 PM PDT
Moraea doleritica Goldblatt & J.C.Manning is known only from the Great Karoo where it is restricted to dolerite outcrops. It is 35-45 cm tall with one long linear channeled leaf and fugacious pale yellow flowers with deeper yellow nectar guides at the base with fine dark dots. It flowers mid-September and October; flowers open early morning and collapse by 11:00. It was named after Homeria was moved into Moraea so there is no synonym. Drawing by John Manning shared with his permission from the Goldblatt and Manning paper naming eight new Moraea species. Figure notes: A, flowering plant (without corm); B, androecium and style; C, style. Scale bar: A, 10 mm; B, 2 mm; C, 1 mm.
From Paradisea on Thursday 20th of August 2026 07:26:21 PM PDT
Paradisea liliastrum (L.) Bertol. is from the alpine meadows of southern Europe. To grow from seeds, sow in a well-drained medium and keep outside in the autumn through the winter. Seeds will germinate in the spring. Seeds can also be germinated using bottom heat (~70 °F/21 °C) within a month in September or October and can be grown in a warm house (Jack Elliott). Height range: 60-100 cm. Photo 1 taken in the French Alps by Hans Joschko who writes: I have seen this species in the French and Italian alps but nowhere were they as beautiful as in Ecrin National Park. We camped with them all around us. I have been unable to succeed with them in my garden in Germany however." Photo 2 of seeds by David Pilling.
From Camassia on Wednesday 19th of August 2026 05:16:05 PM PDT
Camassia leichtlinii (Baker) S.Watson has two subspecies, the pale creamy-yellow type ssp. leichtlinii and the dark violet-blue ssp. suksdorfii. The type form (in the botanical sense) is in fact atypical in the everyday sense, having a narrow distribution around Roseburg, Oregon. Height: to about 4 ft.
Camassia leichtlinii ssp. leichtlinii Photo 1 by Rodger Whitlock shows a seed-grown garden plant of ssp. leichtlinii. He notes:"Enthusiasts are warned that this form, like all other camassias I have dealt with, is a pest in a favorable climate, almost as bad as bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta). Every seed germinates and the bulbs bury themselves so deeply as to be very difficult to dig up. Fortunately, they do not form offsets, unlike the bluebells. Photos 2-5 were taken by Mary Sue Ittner of plants blooming in different years in different stages of bloom and the bulbs on a 1 cm grid.
Photographs by David Pilling of seed and a seedling on a 10 mm grid, this seed was sown on the 15th January 2013 and kept outside (temperatures just above freezing), and is shown on the 29th April.
Camassia leichtlinii ssp. suksdorfii (Greenm.) Gould is widespread in coastal areas around the Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia. White (and pale blue) individuals of Camassia leichtlinii ssp. suksdorfii are not uncommon; they are clearly and easily distinguishable from the creamy-yellow ssp. leichtlinii, which is often erroneously described as white. Photo 1 below is contributed by Kathleen Sayce; it probably belongs to this subspecies. Photo 2 from Mary Sue Ittner. Photo 3 from Richard Haard shows bulbs. Photo 4 from Pamela Harlow is of a plant selected for the especially broad petals.
Camassia leichtlinii 'Semiplena' is sometimes seen under different variant names. This semi-double form of this species is interesting for its tall spires of cream-colored flowers, nearly a pale yellow color. The flowers are on tall wands up to 4 ft (120 cm) and are rather fleeting, lasting only a day or two, then moving on up the stem. At it peak, at early anthesis, it's fairly attractive. Overall I think it's too tall, somewhat dull and inferior to the single flowered types, and no match for those with blue flowers. The plants go dry during anthesis, so need an underplanting of leafy perennials to conceal the drying growth. Photos by Mark McDonough.
From Boophone on Tuesday 18th of August 2026 05:28:08 PM PDT
Boophone haemanthoides F.M.Leight. is found mainly in the west coastal areas of the Western Cape of South Africa, but extends to the Bokkeveld Plateau. These are areas with winter rainfall. Plants grow 30-40 cm high in sand or dolerite outcrops on coastal flats or upland slopes. Summers are hot and dry. The bulbs are really large (up to 18 cm in diameter) and produce flowers in midsummer with leaves in autumn. This species has varied colors in the flowers, mostly pink to creamy white. From seed, this species took 14 years to mature for Diana Chapman.
The form grown by Rob Hamilton has striking large red bracts from which creamy-pink flowers emerge. The plant pictured in the first two photos was grown and photographed by Rob Hamilton. The third photo is of a large patch of leaves near Nieuwoudtville taken August 2001 by Mary Sue Ittner. The last two photos were taken by Cameron McMaster near Nieuwoudtville and Middelpos September 2011.
The first three photos shown below from Uluwehi Knecht are of the beginning stages of a cream-coloured form of a specimen bulb in UC Botanical Garden collection blooming for the first time in August 2010. It was planted out in 2006 from the UC Irvine bulb collection but took four years to re-establish itself to bloom. The fourth and fifth photos from Kelley Macdonald are pictures of the same flowering.
Pictures by Uluwehi Knecht show the nearly ripe infructescence one month after anthesis.
The leaves of the same specimen are shown in the first two pictures by Nhu Nguyen and in the last by Kelley Macdonald.
Habitat photos of plants growing in the coastal areas of Namaqualand. The first 4 photos of a colony near Komkans, growing on a sand plain. Photo 5 of a plant growing near Kleinsee, which appears to have dicotomized. All plants growing in deep sand. Photos by Rob Skillin.
Boophone haemanthoides ssp. ernesti-ruschii (Dinter & G.M.Schulze) G.D.Duncan & C.C.Tsang is from a single spare population of SW Namibia, with scant rainfall in winter and extreme temperature variations typical of desert areas. Summers are very hot and dry. The bulbs produce flowers in late summer, and leaves in winter and spring. This population is in danger of extinction in habitat due to mining operations. Photo 1 by Angelo Porcelli, photo 2 by Nhu Nguyen, photos 3 and 4 by Rob Skillin of plants growing in rocky terrane north of Rosh Pinah, Namibia.
