Bulb Log 11/11

[annew]

Very much enjoyed the bulb log - especially the narcissi, of course. We need to find out about N. bulbocodium jeanmonodii though. The one I had from Rannveig Wallis looks very different to yours, which looks more like what I have as subsp nivalis - Help!

[annew]

Just thought, maybe yours hasn't fully expanded yet.

[mark smyth]

wow it's a beauty

[Ian Y]

No Anne my Narcissus jeanmonodii is fully expanded that is as big as it gets.

It differs from the ones I grow as nivalis in having flowers that always face upwards.

I have always felt that it is nothing more than a geographical version of nivalis.

The names are so confusing and the plants are well mixed up in cultivation but the flowers are all wonderful - we have masses of Narcissus out at the moment.

[Gerry Webster]

I think I've finally concluded that they are all just N. bulbocodium (no subsp., no varieties). Likewise with N. romieuxii.

[ashley]

I'm inclined to agree Gerry, asturiensis too.

Wonderful spring garden and narcissi Ian

[annew]

It would certainly save a lot of labelling! But we need to distinguish between the different forms, or we won't know, for instance, which parents I'd used in a cross, or which one it was someone wanted a bulb of etc etc.
What we need is a hand-held DNA reader. Or blinkers.

[Gerry Webster]

Or numbers/letters.

[annew]

Which is what all my seedlings have, of course. Doesn't really offer much of an idea of what the plant is like though, unless you put the binomial before the numbers, but then we're back to square one! 

[Gerry Webster]

What is wrong with, say, N. bulbocodium XYZ123? It would give me at least as  good (or bad) an idea of the plant as N. bulbocodium var. conspicuus & would not have a (possibly dubious) botanical significance. No different really to collector's numbers such as N. bulbocodium RRW 8832 which gives me a rough idea of what to expect.

[annew]

Nothing is wrong with that, I think it's a good idea.