What makes erythroniums bloom?

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:26:04 PDT
Paige wrote about Erythronium:

 >Has anyone seen more than three flowers on a stem?

Some years ago I raised a group of erythroniums from seed obtained 
from Phyllis Gustafson, who said it came from her garden and was 
hybrids between E. hendersonii and E. oregonum. The results bear out 
this cross, showing a range of intermediate color and marking 
patterns in the flowers. At least one of the plants regularly 
produces five flowers on a stem.

You could also say that E. multiscapideum (the "new old" spelling of 
what we long knew as multiscapoideum) produces more than three 
flowers on a stem, because the flowering scape (stem) branches below 
ground level so that it looks as if a single bulb is producing 
multiple scapes.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA


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