colchicums
Jane McGary (Sat, 27 Sep 2003 09:24:03 PDT)

Arnold wrote,

I haven't noticed any ants on my colchicums here, but they are buzzing with
honeybees, which are still plentiful here despite the terrible mite plague.

Ant dispersal is important for many geophytes, and ants love bulb frames (I
get stung horribly when turning out the dry pots, but perhaps it's good for
arthritis, as bee stings are said to be?), so it's not unusual to find
cyclamens, Gymnospermium, and other plants whose seeds are attractive to
ants coming up in the plunge medium

I also put a lot of Colchicum photos on the wiki recently, so when you look
at Arnold's you can also look at them. I don't know how to make the links
in an e-mail so have not announced them. There is also a new photo of
Sternbergia greuterana.

Regarding Jamie's question about Dipcadi serotinum, it is a very small
flower (you can't see the scale in the photo that was posted) that appears
at odd times in summer. I have several that bloom a month or more apart.
The colors are all very "subtle," to put it kindly -- dull green and
peach-tan. The seed is very easy to collect and set in abundance, so you
can usually find it in thelarger seed exchanges, such as NARGS and AGS. The
plant is said to be rather tender, but I have some in a frame that is
hardly protected at all, and they are doing well.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon