Hymenocallis liriosme (?) and variants
Adam Fikso (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