Bulb structure of Ungernia
James Waddick (Tue, 23 Dec 2003 09:09:13 PST)

Dear All;
The bulbs of the genus Ungernia seem to be unique among bulbs
and I am asking for any info on similar structures.

Many bulbs in the Amaryllidaceae and other families have a
basal plate that connects all the scales, stems and other structure.
As the bulb ages this basal plate is replaced. In Ungernia, this old
basal plate is apparently retained from year to year so that
eventually these old basal plates 'pile up' to form a sub-bulb
rootstock. In a 'Plant Life' article (1970 p 178) there is a picture
of this sub-bulb rootstock branched with two bulbs attached. On the
following page of this same article, the author suggests this
rootstock can get to be a half meter (19 inches) long!

I have attached a picture to the wiki* of three small bulbs
of Ungernia (possibly U. oligostroma**) showing three small bulbs
each with their odd sub-bulb rootstock. I find this very peculiar and
wonder if any other bulb does anything like this?
I am not even sure to call it a sub-bulb rootstock or what;
any suggestions?
Any ideas and anyone seen anything similar?

Happy Holidays to all Jim W.

ps I'll summarize some new Ungernia info soon, too.

* http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
Thanks Mary Sue

** U. oligostroma has the smallest bulbs in the genus. These are
about 2 cm across and the largest is 13 cm long. The largest bulbs
are found in U. trisphera: up to 12 cm (nearly 5 inches) in diameter!
Most species have bulbs in the 5-7 cm diameter (2-3 inch) range of
size.
--
Dr. James W. Waddick
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