Hymenocallis liriosme (?) and variants

Adam Fikso irisman@ameritech.net
Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:20:35 PST
Hello Conroe Joe and anybody else. I find these photos interesting.  I am 
trying to establish any kind of Hymenocallis population here in the Chicago 
area starting with my backyard, and I would appreciate any kind of firm 
observational data bearing on hardiness, season of bloom, conditions, etc.

I suspect that the genus is in dire need of revision or if not taxonomic 
revision, revision of the descriptions about growing conditions.   If these 
are the same species growing both underwater or in temporarily flooded 
conditions--how are they to be distinguished? other than by where they grow?

Over the past year, I have found that the only clear differentiating 
criterion for species is  where they grow, with liriosme usually being the 
species keyed to wetlands, and caroliniana (orientalis)keyed to drier 
uplands, and some species keyed to winter hardiness.  Here, Conroe Joe has 
photographed a difference which has an associated bloom time difference.. I 
LIKE  this!.
Let me add my own observations:  In the three different sets of clones that 
I have had growing (none having come through an entire winter yet  (Z 5a), 
from Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and N. Carolina, none show the inflorescence. 
that appears here where, as I look, there are at least 5-7 flowers open at 
once on the larger scapes.

I'd like to know the total number of  buds  on these larger scapes (this 
seems to be a differentiating character noted for some of the northern 
species--at least it's noted on the plant data descriptions.

I bloomed one bulb that had 11 buds, in succession, with no more than 3 
flowers open at any one time.  I am hoping that this comes through the 
winter and blooms as strongly as it did last year.

Two of the other bulbs (from PA) were seedlings and not of blooming size so 
no observation was possible. The maximum number of buds noted in any 
description I could find was 9, as I remember.

Joe, if you're willing will correspond offline if this does not garner 
enough interest among others in this group.  Adam in Glenview, IL






 



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