Thanks Rodger. Cheers John E. Bryan Rodger Whitlock wrote: > > Double-barreled message to alpine-l and pbs list. > > Plate 55 in "Bulbs of North America" purports to show a specimen of > Erythronium revolutum with mottled leaves. Indeed, there are flowers > that look like E. revolutum in the middle background, and leaves > with prominent mottling in the foreground. > > The fly in the ointment is that those foreground leaves aren't from > the same plant as the flower scape. The foreground leaves are almost > certainly a form of E. dens-canis -- the manner of mottling and the > shape of the leaves are characteristic of that species. > > The photo does show leaves in the middle background that probably are > those of E. revolutum, and there is some mottling visible on them. > Again, the leaf shape and style of that mottling are diagnostic of a > west-coast species rather than E. dens-canis. > > The photo is attributed to Molly Grothaus, who has been dead for some > years; was it published after her death? > > The risk is that unless a reader has more than passing familiarity > with Erythronium foliage, he or she may very well start identifying > pink forms of E. dens-canis as E. revolutum "because the leaves are > the same as the picture in the book." This is a mistake I have seen > before under other circumstances, and can endlessly confuse novices. > > I suggest that those possessing this interesting and extremely > valuable book make an annotation next to plate 55 warning of the > mixup. > > Footnote: while I refer to E. dens-canis, the interloper could be one > of the erythronium species from eastern North America, which have > very similar foliage. > > -- > Rodger Whitlock > Victoria, British Columbia, Canada > Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate > > on beautiful Vancouver Island > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php