pbs : Lilium formosanum

Does anyone know in what year William Price viewed these variations in L.
formosanum priceii?
I'd appreciate receiving the reference....Cynthia Mueller,

William Price accompanied Henry John Elwes to Taiwan (Formosa in those days)
in 1912 (preceded by a tour through Malaysia and Indonesia). HJE wrote a
fascinating account in his autobiography, full of information on all aspects
of the natural history of Taiwan. He found L. formosanum at lower altitudes
and says that 'Price afterwards found at much higher elevations another
lily, which by the Japanese botanists is considered identical with L.
philippinense. This plant has proved hardy in the Botanic Gardens of
Edinburgh, though I cannot grow it outside at home.'

It is evident that Price was often sent off alone, because Elwes' increasing
age and girth (he was 66) made him 'less able than formerly to get about the
steep mountain paths on foot.' They were in Taiwan for two months, from
February to April, before going on to Japan. It seems that Price later
returned to Taiwan to collect plants, hence the 'afterwards' in the note
about L. formosanum.

The other notable monocot introductions from this expedition were Tricyrtis
formosana (as T. stolonifera) and Pleione 'pricei' (now P. formosana
'Oriental Grace').

John Grimshaw

Dr John M. Grimshaw
Sycamore Cottage
Colesbourne
Nr Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL53 9NP

Tel. 01242 870567

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cynthia Mueller" <c-mueller@tamu.edu>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 12:56 AM
Subject: Re: [pbs] pbs : Lilium formosanum

Dear John, Tony & All,

College Station, Texas

"John Grimshaw" <j.grimshaw@virgin.net> 9/2/2008 3:10 PM >>>

Thank you, Tony, for that very interesting account of L. formosanum in
the
wild. I've re--read the account in Woodcock & Stearn's 'Lilies of the
World'
(1950), which remains a most useful reference on lilies. They quote
William
Price: 'In the plains the flower is pure white, but as one ascends the
perianth becomes faintly marked with red on the reverse. Above 6000 feet
it
is wonderfully different, being quite a small slender plant about one foot
high with a perianth of confrming size. At the higher elevations the red
markings become deeper and take the form of rich red bands on the keels of
the perianth segments. The change is so gradual and continuous that it is
obviously the same species all the time.'

It sounds as if the pattern of variation with altitude has noy changed in
the past hundred years.

John Grimshaw

Dr John M. Grimshaw
Sycamore Cottage
Colesbourne
Nr Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL53 9NP

Tel. 01242 870567

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Avent" <tony@plantdelights.com>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 6:49 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] pbs : Lilium formosanum

John and others:

While I was in Taiwan, I replied about the Lilium formosanum that I had
seen, all of which had the purple flower backs and were about 3-4'
tall. On our final day in the field, coming down from Ali Shan in the
Central Mountains, when we dropped below 5,000' elevation, all of a
sudden the Lilium formosanum below that elevation were all 6' tall and
had no purple staining to the back of the petals. These plants are
identical to the plant that we and others sell in the US as L.
formosanum. It appears that the variation is simply one of ecotypes
unless someone goes and names the non-purple back form as a subspecies.
I hope this sheds more light on the subject.

Tony Avent
Plant Delights Nursery @
Juniper Level Botanic Garden
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA
Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F
Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F
USDA Hardiness Zone 7b
email tony@plantdelights.com
website http://www.plantdelights.com/ ( http://www.plantdelights.com/ )
phone 919 772-4794
fax 919 772-4752
"I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least
three times" - Avent

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