Leucojum JCA 630.480
Rodger Whitlock (Wed, 31 Mar 2004 13:02:13 PST)

On 27 Mar 04 at 18:38, johngrimshaw@tiscali.co.uk wrote:

Rodger, You're in luck!

I've recently been given a set of Jim Archibald's catalogues; the
first in the pile is Sept. 1990.

Guard them well!

For 630.480 the entry reads: Leucojum tingitanum Morocoo, Rif Mts,
above Xauen (Chefchaouen). (we still have some seeed left of from
John Blanchard's 1989 collection of this obscure species, apparently
restricted to one or two localities in NW Morocco. Spring-flowering
and more robust than L. trichophyllum. John tells us that the stems
are up to 30 cm high, each with up to 7 white flowers to 18 mm
across. 15+ seeds E (= $5.50, £3.50)

This plant is now correctly known as Acis tingitana, to follow the
very sensible suggestion from botanists at Kew that all the small
Leucojums with narrow leaves and unmarked flowers revert to the old
genus Acis, reserving Leucojum for the robust, wide-leaved,
green-marked L. aestivum and L. vernum. That nobody has questioned
this extraordinary lumping (inb the 1880s, by J.G. Baker) in the
past is really quite remarkable.

I presume that the previous paragraph is your own comment, rather
than in Archibald's seedlist.

My mystery plant has fairly wide leaves, but the flowers are
unmarked. If Brian Mathew's 1987 key is accurate, it's definitely L.
fontianum. I wonder which group the Kew experts would place it in
since it has the wide leaves of Leucoum sensu strictu and the
unmarked flowers of Acis.

Also, does anyone know what the current thinking is on the
relationship of L. tingitanum and L. fontianum?

At any rate, thank you very much for unearthing this information.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate

on beautiful Vancouver Island