Uli - unidentified Cyrtanthus

[Mikent]

@Uli Urban

I'm updating my labels prior to bringing bulbs in for the Winter. Was the Cyrtanthus sp. bulb you received from John Lavranos in 2014 ever identified?

I received it in BX 440 (2018), but I've seen it listed in a number of other BXes as well.

Thank you for your time and generosity.

Oh, umm, should I have entered this under Mystery Bulbs?

Thanks,

Mike

[Uli]

Hello Mike,

Thank you very much for your message. 
The Cyrtanthus from John Lavranos was never identified. There were no field data either. I am writing in the past tense because I lost it in the meantime, probably to Narcissus fly. But I must say that I did not really cry after it because it never flowered during the time I had it, maybe 8 years or so. It produced enormous amounts of bulbils which I shared on several occasions. Has yours ever flowered?
I know that Rimmer de Vries also has it. He sent me pictures of the flower but it turned out that the flower was from a Habranthus spec. which had self sown into the pot of the Cyrtanthus.
It is nearly impossible to identify a non flowering specimen of Cyrtanthus. From its looks it probably belongs to the montanus or sanguineus group.
It is indeed a good idea to enter it into mystery bulbs, maybe it has flowered with somebody else.
Sorry I cannot give you more details,

Uli 

[Mikent]

Uli,

No, mine have never flowered for me. I have noticed that the bulbs are at their plumpest in late Winter (end of February). Bad time of year for me to be providing them with any stimulus that might result in blooms as they're under grow-lights in the basement at that point. Usually, after a month or so of being really plump and glossy, the outer layer of the bulb dries out a bit, and another batch of bulbils starts pushing through around the base of the bulb.

I can't recall any of the bulbs (bulbils, or one of the two large bulbs) ever having had more than one leaf at any time.

I gave my sister, who lives in the Dallas, Texas area, some bulbils recently. Maybe she will be more sucessful with providing enough stimuli to achieve blooms. Or, maybe I'll break down one of these days, and send a batch of bulbils in for a DNA analysis.

Mike

[Robin Jangle]

This might be Cyrtanthus labiatus. It produces bulbils at an embarrassing rate! It also looks somewhat similar to C. sanguineus foliage-wise - slightly glaucous strappy leaves.

I grew it for years from bulbils that I acquired from Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. It only flowered once and was not attractive enough to warrant bench or even garden space.

A pic of the plant (bulbs and foliage) would help to confirm.

[Mikent]

Robin,

Thanks. I'll see if I can get a picture of the bulb to you. Once we get a day with some actual sunlight - it's been dark and drizzly for a few days.

Mike