Sternbergia clusiana


Quick Characteristics:

Height: 10-20 cm (3.9-7.9 inch)
Flower Colors: yellow
Flower Season: late autumn
Life form: bulb
 

Sternbergia clusiana (Ker Gawl.) Ker Gawl. ex Spreng is found in Jordan, Israel, Turkey to Iran. The first two photos of stereo pairs were taken in an England garden November 2003 by Brian Whyer. The first is a true left/right stereo pair, the second right/left, of the same clump. You should be able to see 1, or maybe both pairs of them in stereo, by crossing your eyes until the 2 images overlap, or a third image appears in the centre, and with practice they will/may suddenly appear in stereo. The flowers of eight bulbs emerge before the leaves through one relatively small hole, presumably taking the route of least resistance through the stony clay chalk soil. The third photo was taken in the wild in southwestern Turkey by Jane McGary in early November 2006. Plants were growing on a steep bank and in rocky soil in scrub. The fifth photo by Angelo Porcelli shows the pod growing at ground level, as this species flowers with the ovary buried in the soil and it appears above the ground only after successful pollination. (The fourth photo, by Jane McGary, is probably S. fischeriana.)

Sternbergia clusiana, Brian WhyerSternbergia clusiana, Brian WhyerSternbergia clusiana, Jane McGarySternbergia clusiana, Jane McGarySternbergia clusiana, Angelo Porcelli

This species grows quite deep in the soil; the 3 years old seedlings below show the yearly 'migration' through the bottom of their pot. A new bulb is formed below the former one, which dries and is absorbed by the new one. The upper part of these bulbs are just dried tunics. Photo by Angelo Porcelli

Sternbergia clusiana bulbs, Angelo Porcelli

Photos below of Sternbergia clusiana in the wild in Israel by Gideon Pisanty and Shlomit Heymann.

Sternbergia clusiana growing in cracks, Gideon PisantySternbergia clusiana growing out of the rock, Gideon PisantySternbergia clusiana buds with Colchocum sp., Gideon PisantySternbergia clusiana, Shlomit HeymannSternbergia clusiana, Shlomit HeymannSternbergia clusiana, Shlomit Heymann


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