Leontocher ovallei & Moss & liverwort
Jane McGary (Sat, 31 Jan 2004 15:35:51 PST)

Malcolm Redwood in New Zealand asked,

Leontocheir ovallei seed?

I did not realize Chilterns had this. Wonder how they got it? It is very
strictly protected in the wild, except from the g-- d--- goats, which is
why it's endangered in the first place.

Anyway, it lives in very dry, rocky situations in the Coast Range of north
central Chile; I saw it growing in vertical crevices in a canyon wall,
where the goats and resident guanacos apparently had missed it. It should
germinate pretty much like the coastal Alstroemeria species to which it is
closely related; that is, in cool but frost-free conditions, almost as soon
as the seeds become moist. However, if this is seed of the current season,
and I had managed to get some, I would keep it at room temperature, dry,
not planted, for 3 to 5 months before planting and watering it. I
definitely would not subject it to any chipping, chemical treatments,
freezing etc. -- just plant it in a good gritty soilless mix and give it a
soaking in the early fall, and keep the seedlings away from frost and watch
them carefully for aphids.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA