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From Lilium Oriental Section on Friday 1st of November 2024 06:28:26 PM PDT
Lilium japonicum Thunb. ex Houtt. (sasa-yuri = bamboo lily) hails from the South of the Japanese island of Honshu where it grows on North facing slopes among bamboo and rhododendrons from sea level to over 3000 feet. It requires cool soil. Photos 1 and 2 of plants in cultivation by John Lykkegaard Johansen. Photo 3 of bulb by Pontus Wallstén.
From Melanthium on Thursday 31st of October 2024 09:50:48 PM PDT
Melanthium woodii (Robbins ex Alph. Wood) Bodkin, syn. Veratrum woodii, is essentially a plant of the Ozark Mountains but there are disjunct populations in the Appalachians as far south as Georgia. It is rather rare and, where it occurs, the populations are typically small, rarely flower and set seed even less frequently. Norlyn Bodkin spent four years studying Melanthium for his PhD in the 1950s and never saw it in flower. The flowers have a distinctly putrid marine water smell according to Aaron Flooden. The first image below was taken in a patch of undisturbed woodland on a steep slope beside a small river in SW Illinois. Note the characteristic manner in which the foliage 'leans' in one direction. The second picture shows a plant flowering in late July in cultivation in the UK and the third shows developing seed capsules on the same plant in late August. All pictures by Tom Mitchell.
From Commelina on Wednesday 30th of October 2024 07:15:52 PM PDT
Commelina coelestis Willd. is a tuberous species distributed from Mexico to Central America where it is found in moist fields or open forest from medium to high elevations. It has small clusters of blue flowers with three rounded petals and yellow stamens and flowers late summer into autumn. Blooming the first year from seed it is fairly tolerant of different conditions, but prefers a well drained soil and is deciduous in winter. It needs to be protected from slugs. The tubers are apparently edible, but bland. Photos from Janos Agoston.
From Ceratandra on Tuesday 29th of October 2024 05:16:00 PM PDT
Ceratandra atrata (L.) T.Durand & Schinz is a widespread species that occurs from Ceres to Knysna. Growing to 30 cm tall and flowering in the first year after a fire in late spring to early summer, this species is found in moist loamy soils in coastal mountains. It has upright soft leaves and yellow flowers. Buds have reddish tips. Photos from the book Plants of the Klein Karoo courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok.
From Brodiaea Species Two on Monday 28th of October 2024 05:15:38 PM PDT
Brodiaea terrestris Kellogg is a coastal bluff and coastal prairie plant with stems appearing to be half buried beneath the soil. Commonly known as dwarf brodiaea or earth brodiaea, this species grows from California to Oregon. The flowers are light blue to blue-violet with a triangular tube. The angled staminodes are white to violet, leaning inward but held away from the stamens. It blooms from April into June depending on the location. There are two subspecies. The first two photos were taken by Nhu Nguyen. Photo 2 was taken at the Tilden Botanic Garden of a plant labeled as Brodiaea minor that is probably this species. Corms received in PBS BX 321 #7 grown by Nhu Nguyen and labeled NNBH1205 are shown on a 1 cm grid in photo 3 by M. Gastil-Buhl.
Brodiaea terrestris ssp. kernensis (Hoover) Niehaus is a subspecies that can be taller (2 to 20 cm) with larger flowers, violet (sometimes white) staminodes and a green ovary. The anther tips are erect to reflexed, generally without a dentate lobe in the notch. The plant in the first photo from Bob Rutemoeller was grown from wild collected seed in Kern County California at a high elevation. The next two photos from Mary Sue Ittner. The last photo was taken by Jim Duggan from a San Diego County population.
Brodiaea terrestris ssp. terrestris is the shortest subspecies (.5 to 7 cm). It has white to pale violet staminodes and anthers with reflexed tips and a dentate lobe in the notch. These pictures show it in habitat in Northern California. The first four were taken at Salt Point State Park. One shows a rare white flower. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner and Bob Rutemoeller.
From Hesperantha Three on Sunday 27th of October 2024 05:14:22 PM PDT
Hesperantha falcata (L.f.) Ker Gawl. is widespread growing on sandstone and shale slopes and coastal flats from the Northwest Cape to the Eastern Cape. It has white or yellow flowers, with brown or red outer tepals. The white fragrant (jasmine to frangipani or acrid musk scented) flowers open late in the afternoon or evening and the yellow unscented flowers during the middle of the day. It is pollinated both by bees and moths. The white flowers are very similar to Hesperantha cucullata, but are smaller and the corms of each species are different. Hesperantha falcata corms are bell-shaped with a flat base. Photos 1-4 were taken in the Overberg by Cameron McMaster. The last two photos were taken in the Little Karoo by Bob Rutemoeller.
From Radinosiphon on Saturday 26th of October 2024 05:34:07 PM PDT
Radinosiphon lomatensis (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. is a local endemic restricted to the highlands above 300 m elevation in northern Eswatini and the mountains west of Lydenburg, South Africa where it grows in quartzite outcrops in montane grassland. This is the larger-flowered taxon: perianth tube mostly 30-50 mm long with long, broader tepals. It has larger capsules with up to 8 seeds per locule and increases vegetatively by slender, naked stolons. It flowers January to February and is pollinated by the long-proboscid fly. Photos from iNaturalist were taken by Craig Peter in Mpumalanga in January and shared under a CC BY-NC license.
From Calostemma on Friday 25th of October 2024 09:13:57 PM PDT
Calostemma luteum Sims, a larger plant in almost all parts, is yellow flowered and found in deep clays on floodplains. This picture was taken by Paul Tyerman and is of a yellow flowered form he saw at the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra.
From Musa on Thursday 24th of October 2024 05:39:33 PM PDT
Musa velutina, commonly called velvet pink banana, is native to northeast India. It has rich pink flowers in late summer followed by fuzzy pink fruits. The fruits are dry and seedy, so not edible, but they are highly ornamental, as are the flowers and large leaves. It thrives in moist soil with sun or partial shade and is winter hardy without special protection in Raleigh, North Carolina (Zone 7b). Even when killed to the ground each winter, it's vigorous enough to grow to a height of greater than 10 feet (3 meters) and produce flowers and fruits during a single growing season. Photos taken September 2009 by Jay Yourch.
From Asarum on Wednesday 23rd of October 2024 05:19:30 PM PDT
Asarum arifolium Michx. is an evergreen North American species with silvery markings. In colder weather, leaves in exposed positions may take on a purplish hue. Photos by Jay Yourch.