Albuca shawii
Diane Whitehead (Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:10:18 PDT)
On 15-Sep-11, at 5:52 PM, Mary Sue Ittner wrote:
From Mountain Flowers by Elsa Pooley:
Albuca shawii
150-400 mm. on cliffs, in rocky grassland, up to 2400 m. E Cape to
Limpopo Prov. Leaves covered with **short sticky hairs**. Flowers
few, more or less 15 mm, yellow, **nodding**, scented (Sep-Feb.)
** is used to indicate the important distinguishing features
It looks as though we have a good selection in cultivation, then, as
it does not have "few" flowers, but about a dozen, each on a long
pedicel so that the flowers are held gracefully out from the stem.
Yes, the short sticky hairs are distinctive, and the leaves smell
good. I have seen different descriptions of the scent, some saying
like anise. I think it smells more like a conifer, so I went around
the yard, pinching the needles on all my conifers, and decided it was
most like Alberta spruce - Picea glauca.
(I've just looked this up, and back east they consider this spruce
smells like a skunk. I can assure you neither my Alberta spruce nor
my Albuca smell bad.)
Mine flowered in three years from seed.
Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
cool mediterranean climate
moderate dry summers, moderate rainy winters
68 cm rain (27 in)