I believe Tony Miller has been back to the island, probably more than once,
to investigate the small spotted leaf Ledebouria. I'm not sure what is the
current state of knowledge on this but if it is L. revoluta it would
represent an extension of the species (as interpreted by modern
floristicians) from Kenya, Somalia, etc. Unless it is a juvenile form of L.
grandifolia it is certainly distinct from L. grandifolia. We found it
growing in the main path (literally!) to Muqadrihon.
Many salient features appear in these plants when seen alive and these tend
to help increase the species count. I am skeptical that L. revoluta is
truly so widespread since the type is from South Africa ("Cape", Thunberg,
s.n.) and most ledebourias have rather small ranges. Venter says that L.
revoluta is "concentrated in Transvaal and Natal". The best way to
understand such plants would be to build up an extensive living collection
of documented material in addition to the traditional methods and molecular
work.
Aaron, I thought the flowers rather closely resembled those of some Resnova
species. Not sure the official disposition of this genus today.
Dylan Hannon
On 15 December 2013 11:03, John Grimshaw <john@oltarakwa.co.uk> wrote:
> The authors of 'The Ethnoflora of the Soqotra Archipelago' (A. Miller, M.
> Morris: RBG Edinburgh 2004) make the interesting observation that 'if
> conditions remain humid, the leaves persist, increasing in size, until well
> into the following year (January to February).' At Christmas 1999 they
> were
> certainly quite large, definitely earning the epithet grandifolia. It may
> well be that Harry Jans was lucky enough to be on Socotra after a year or
> two of good growing conditions when the plants had built up sufficient
> reserves to be able to flower well.
>
> The same work notes a photographic record of Ledebouria aff. revoluta on
> Socotra made by one Dylan Hannon in 2001: has this ever been confirmed,
> Dylan?
>
> John Grimshaw
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]
> On Behalf Of Hannon
> Sent: 15 December 2013 18:23
> To: Pacific Bulb Society
> Subject: Re: [pbs] Ledebouria grandifolia
>
> The flowers appear Ledebouria-like to me, albeit more showy than usual. An
> internet search shows very well an isotype of H. grandifolius, with the
> broad leaf blades abruptly narrowed to a slender petiole, closely
> resembling
> some eriospermums. Haemanthus leaves are broad and truncate at the base
> (leaf pairs forming a 'seam') although Balfour was likely referring to what
> we now call Scadoxus, which have leaf blades attenuated at the base. Harry
> Jans's lovely photo taken in Oct/Nov would be at the beginning of the
> (main)
> winter rainy season, with leaves just emerging.
> Flowers may also appear, perhaps more typically, before the leaves (like
> Haemanthus). Therefore it is not surprising that the type gathering was
> sterile (no flowers or fruits) and it was thought to be a Haemanthus rather
> than a squill.
>
> By all accounts L. grandifolia is a difficult plant to maintain in
> cultivation. Bulbs collected by John Lavranos on the 1967
> inter-disciplinary
> expedition to Socotra reportedly withered away over a period of years. My
> own experience is that it will remain dormant for 2-4 years at a time, even
> with coaxing by autumn watering, producing a leaf or two when it is in the
> mood and not otherwise.
>
> Dylan Hannon
>
>
> On 15 December 2013 09:59, Tim Harvey <zigur@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Those plants have rather un-Ledebouria-like flowers, to me. Does
> > anyone have a copy of the protologue for L. grandifolia? I wonder how
> > they linked a sterile type specimen to living material?
> >
> >
> >
> > T
> >
> >
> > > I saw Ledebouria grandifolia on Socotra in December 1999, but it
> > > wasn't
> > in
> > > flower: the pictures shown on Harry Jan's website
> > > http://jansalpines.com/gallery/main.php/… of it
> > flowering
> > > are therefore of great interest. When I saw it the leaves were
> > > expanded
> >
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> *"If this is all we can do, maybe we had better do it-- and see if there is
> anything beyond this by doing it."* -- John Lilly
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*"If this is all we can do, maybe we had better do it-- and see if there
is anything beyond this by doing it."* -- John Lilly