Romulea ramiflora

[Karaba]

Hi,
First message here but I'l a fan of the PBS wiki, which is a true reference. That's why I'm posting today to correct a misidentification.

There has been confusion about this species (Romulea ramiflora) for such a long time. True ramiflora is illustrated here : it's a tiny species, with small flower, pale purple with dark strikes on upper face making like a purple ring, the throat is yellow, the bracts are green with just a thin white margin.

And you can see that it is not the same than the one on the PBS wiki Romulea ramiflora

. This one was once identified as Romulea bulbocodium, but Angelo Porcelli conclude that it couldn't because the stigma was as long as the anthers. That's right for Romulea bulbocodium in eastern mediterranean bassin, but it's not in Portugal where different forms coexist. I found on inaturalist some pictures matching perfectly with the false ramiflora as this one :  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/199882342  The variation of stigma height and flower color even lead some botanist to describe other species like Romulea uliginosa Kunze. Béguinot, in its Revisione monografica delle Romulea della flora iberica (1906) even consider that there's only one romulea "bulbocodium like" in Spain named Romulea uliginosa.

I've asked to different collectors and nurseryman and woman to know where this form comes from. If not totaly sure, it's merly certainly Romulea bulbocodium Knightshayes form distributed by Jerry and Jim Archibald in the 90's. It was multiplied in North America, and come back in Europe with an other name (Romulea ramiflora) and then was distributed with other names : I received it as Romulea bulbocodium, linaresi, ramiflora and melitensis !

To stop the diffusion of bad name, please, correct it and use the right one. This is not Romulea ramiflora but Romulea bulbocodium 'Knightshayes form'

[janemcgary]

The correct spelling is "Knightshayes," not "Knightslayes." The Romulea I have grown as 'Knightshayes form' was deeper in color than the plants in the preceding photo.

[David Pilling]

This page is interesting:

https://www.rareplants.co.uk/product/romulea-ramiflora/

"You might sometimes see R. ramiflora  labelled as "Romulea bulbocodium nivalis" – that name isn't correct, it is a name invented in horticulture and it isn't a valid one either as there is already a valid, totally different, species called Romulea nivalis, from Lebanon, already using the epithet nivalis. You may also see R. ramiflora labelled as Romulea bulbocodium Knightshayes Form, (especially when it is grown on the west coast of the USA). This is a more tricky situation, since although that appears to be a valid name it is being misapplied to R. ramiflora in error. I don't know if the original, documented Knightshayes plant is even still in existence or in cultivation, though its memory is being kept alive by the imposter.

As if this wasn't all enough – many of the stocks grown in cultivation, under the actual name of Romulea ramiflora are not in fact Romulea ramiflora at all! They seem to be wrongly named and represent a weedy southern hemisphere species that is perhaps giving the correct plant a bad name. Those plants represent a "seed list changeling" that has replaced the true species by virtue of its thuggish manners and prolific seeding."

[Karaba]

Sorry for the mispelling, it has been corrected.

The pictures i have posted are true ramiflora, so it's normal that your Knightshayes form was deeper, they aren't the same

[Karaba]

This page is interesting:

https://www.rareplants.co.uk/product/romulea-ramiflora

This page has been written after a mail exchange with Paul where i inform him about the misidentification of its ramiflora. I also exchanged with  Diana Chapman (who exchange with Jane McGary), Antoine Hoog, Bert Zaalberg, Oron Peri and several french botanists

[Carlos]

Hi, I am trying to get wild Spanish / Portuguese bulbocodium, and bulbocodium from the Ligurian Alps, which should be the type locality (Linnaeus said 'Italian Alps', but the plant does not occur in the true Alps, like around Milan, Turin, etc, it's too cold).

Carlos