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From Xeronema on Sunday 24th of November 2024 04:20:49 PM PST
Xeronema callistemon endemic to Poor Knights Island and Hen (Taranga) Islands in northern New Zealand grows on rhyolite sea cliffs and rock outcrops and occasionally on rubble in forests or as epiphytes on Metrosideros excelsa. They form huge colonies 1-4 m across. The flowers are red in dense racemes on scapes that are up to 1 m long. Flowers appear in spring. They are not threatened, but because they are endemic to two very small islands they are listed as such. There are two recognized subspecies: X. callistemon var. callistemon and X. callistemon var. bracteosa
According to the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, Xeronema is best grown in a long narrow pot in a free draining mix of rock chips and compost. They should be watered frequently and fertilized frequently with sea weed, manure, or a high phosphate/nitrogen garden fertilizer. The Network says they're very cold sensitive dying even in mild frosts, but Lee Poulsen haven't had any such problem with his where they've withstood temperatures down to 0 °C or lower (-1° or -2 °C) with no signs of damage or harm whatsoever growing outdoors all year round without any protection here in Southern California. The one thing they can't withstand is overheated roots; this will kill them very quickly. The plants should be allowed to become root-bound or they won't flower, and need good sunlight. However, good sunlight in New Zealand is not quite the same as other places. In the San Francisco Bay Area, plants grown in full sun are extremely stressed and need to be grown in partial sun or part shade.
The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen.
From Dipcadi on Saturday 23rd of November 2024 05:08:11 PM PST
Dipcadi serotinum (L.) Medik. has a very small flower that appears at odd times in summer. The colors are all very "subtle," dull green and peach-tan. The seed is very easy to collect and sets in abundance. It is from southwest Europe and North Africa. Photo 1 was taken by Sheri Ann Richerson and photos 2-3 were taken by Dylan Hannon of a form from Quinta do Lago, Portugal. The last two photos were taken by Bert Zaalberg. The last is a habitat photo taken in Spain.
Dipcadi serotinum var. fulvum (Cav.) Ball is a form growing in mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. It is a late bloomer that can be found in flower until July, growing in dry habitats. It differs from the type by its yellow/creamy flowers. The two photos were taken in its habitat in the Spanish Pyrenees by Oron Peri.
From Tulipa Species Two on Friday 22nd of November 2024 04:30:27 PM PST
Tulipa dasystemon (Regel) Regel is distributed in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia to northwestern China. Photos by David Victor where it was growing in the wild on the eastern Tien Shan mountains, Kazakhstan, in June 2004 on the Talgar Pass at about 9,000 feet. The second picture shows Tulipa dasystemon (on the left) growing with Tulipa heterophylla (on right).
A species, Tulipa neustruevae Pobed., is now considered to be a synonym of Tulipa dasystemon. Found at a lower elevation in the western Tien Shan, it is a brighter golden yellow and has fresh glossy green leaves. It can be grown in a rock garden or raised bed and flowers March to April. Photo taken in a Portland, Oregon, garden March 2009 by Mary Sue Ittner.
From Polianthes on Thursday 21st of November 2024 04:03:09 PM PST
Polianthes ×bundrantii T.M.Howard, now Agave ×bundrantii (T.M.Howard) Thiede & Eggli, is a hybrid between Polianthes howardii and Polianthes tuberosa. However, unlike Polianthes tuberosa, it doesn't have any scent that I can detect. Photos taken Aug. 2004 by Lee Poulsen. Note from wiki administrators: Kew refers to this name as unplaced, but we're not sure what that means.
From Arisaema Species Two on Wednesday 20th of November 2024 07:43:15 PM PST
Arisaema franchetianum Engl. is very similar to Arisaema fargesii. It is difficult to separate them as their characters give a continuum of forms and colours. A. franchetianum has a more galeate spathe; these plants have a reddish colour. Grown and photographed by Giorgio Pozzi, May 2006. The first picture shows the plant, and the second picture shows the spathe.
From Erythronium Two on Tuesday 19th of November 2024 05:48:17 PM PST
Erythronium californicum Purdy grows in humus-rich soil in moist woodland in the Coast ranges of northern California. Grown from seed, the leaves at first were just green, but have become more mottled as the plants got older. Flowers are white with a greenish yellow base marked by a ring of yellow, orange, or brown. The first three photos by Mary Sue Ittner of plants blooming March 2004. The first picture shows a flower with a brown ring and the second one with a yellow ring (using plastic background to help me focus) and the third picture shows the pot with leaves and flowers. The fourth picture was taken by John Lonsdale and the fifth by Bob Werra. The last photo taken by Ian Young.
This photo taken by Mary Sue Ittner shows a bulb on a 1 cm grid.
Habitat pictures taken in Sonoma County, California, of populations growing on a wet bank alongside the road. Geophytic companions include Oxalis oregana, Scoliopus biglovii, Trillium ovatum, and Prosartes smithii, syn. Disporum smithii. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Erythronium californicum 'White Beauty' is considered by some to be a white form of E. revolutum but others feel it is just a clone of E. californicum. (Comment: Dr. Geraldine Allen says 'White Beauty' is clearly a cultivar of E. californicum, perhaps with some hybridity in its ancestry.) It was introduced by Carl Purdy who selected it from his collections of bulbs he dug from the wild. This selection produces offsets more often than most of the plants in this species. Photos by John Lonsdale and Ian Young, respectively.
From Favorite Purple Flowered Bulbs on Monday 18th of November 2024 04:56:46 PM PST
Iris reticulata -- "old original", which will stand in for all the wonderful purple iris. "Old original" also has the scent of Viola odorata, Jim McKenney, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7.
From Chiloglottis on Sunday 17th of November 2024 04:18:05 PM PST
Chiloglottis valida or the large Bird orchid has been segregated to Simpliglottis and is known as Simpliglottis valida. It is found in moist slopes and gullies in forests in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia. It has two ground hugging green leaves and a greenish to purplish flower about 3.5 cm. across. It is supposed to resemble a small bird with its beak open waiting to be fed. Photos were taken near Menzies Creek, Australia October 2007 by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner.
From Rauhia on Saturday 16th of November 2024 04:08:31 PM PST
Rauhia multiflora (Kunth) Ravenna (syn. Rauhia peruviana Traub) is a summer grower that is dormant in winter. It enjoys good sunlight in warm spot. Photo 1 is of a three-year-old seedling by Arnold Trachtenberg. Photo 2 is of a large planting of mature bulbs underneath the shade of Prosopis pallida at the Koko Crater Botanic Garden on O`ahu, Hawai`i taken in February 2007 by Uluwehi Knecht. Photo 3 was taken by Diana Chapman of the first bloom of a plant she is growing. Note that Diana's plant is producing 4 leaves, indicating a very healthy bulb. Photos 4-6 were taken by Nhu Nguyen. Photos 5-6 show developing seed pods from a selfing.
The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen.
From Aponogeton on Friday 15th of November 2024 05:23:58 PM PST
Aponogeton distachyos L.f. is a fresh water aquatic perennial with tuberous roots and floating oval leaves native to South Africa. It has sweetly scented white flowers used in cooking. This species is now invasive in s. Australia, w. South America and w. Europe. Photo 1 was taken by Alan Horstmann and photo 2 was taken by Nhu Nguyen at the UC Botanical Garden. Photos 3 & 4 were taken by Janos Agoston, showing 2 new leaves and the tuber on a grid.
