>Dear All, > >Last week we were able to drive by one of the weedy public patches >of Watsonia that I mentioned earlier. We didn't get a chance to stop >and take a picture until we were on our way home and then it was >late in the day and not everything is in focus. But you can see the >potential problem with this species when you look at all those >bulbils on one stalk! Think of them all falling off and extending in >all directions. They can root right on top of the soil. I was paying >attention as we drove and there are some really bad patches next to >the highway and other places where they are only a few plants now, >but will be hundreds in years to come. These pictures were taken >right along Highway One next to Salt Point State Park. I added the >text below and pictures to the wiki: > >Watsonia meriana ssp. bulbilifera produces bubils in the leaf axis >and in the right climate can become a big pest as it has in coastal >northern California. These two photos by Bob Rutemoeller although >not very clear show the large number of bubils and the drying >foliage which makes an ugly and ever extending display along Highway >One in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… > >Roy, if your plants did not produce these bubils maybe what you have >is not the problem plant. > >Mary Sue Mary Sue: Thanks for posting the fine pics, just what I needed for comparison with stuff that I've grown. So far none of my orange-salmon watsonia have produced bulbils on the inflorescence axes. I wonder about climate and/or cultural conditions on inflorescence development, but I'm inclined to agree that I'm dealing with a non-pernicious watsonia. Roy
