Massonia question
Mary Sue Ittner (Sun, 07 Nov 2010 11:01:35 PST)

The description of Massonia pustulata in the Color Encyclopedia is
"leaves smooth or pustulate-hairy, sometimes spotted". You tell them
apart according to the key by measuring the length of the anthers.
Massonia pustulata is in the category of anthers 1 to 2 mm long, with
filaments usually 16 to 24 mm. long. I once grew plants labeled
Massonia pustulata from seed that had smooth leaves, but decided it
was probably M. echinata after I measured it. So you may need to wait
for flowers.

Your question illustrates a couple of points. One, as Arnold has just
written, is that leaves change from year to year. I've found this
especially to be true of Cyclamen leaves that in the beginning
weren't nearly as interesting as they became in subsequent years.

Secondly and this is something that I didn't use to appreciate until
I started looking at more plants in the wild, there is an amazing
diversity found in species. We look at a picture in a book and think
all of the plants are going to look like that picture and this isn't
so. That's why we often add additional pictures to the wiki of plants
already illustrated that show variations.

Mary Sue