Mystery Bulbs

[tonyg]

Here is a chance for all you forumists to help a fellow gardener.  I received this enquiry today:

I am writing to you from far north of Western Australia where I have these
flowers shown in the attachments growing in my "shade house". They are
bulbs, but I do not know what sort of flowers they are.

We do not have a suitable garden nursery here, so people there were unable
to help me.

Some say they are a type of lily, some say crocus.

I wondered if you would be able to tell me what they are by just looking at the photos.

The flowers only last a couple of days, and they whole season goes for only about  1 month. The leaves don't die back at the end of the season, they stay green all year around.  We live the in the sub tropics with
temperatures of 43+ Cel. In the summer, which is now.

It is NOT a crocus ... but what is it?  First glance I thought Ipheon but looking carefully I now think ?Zephyranthes.  What do you think?

[Maggi Young]

Hi, Tony, night-owling again, I see!
Hmm!  These are pretty things, I would think Zephyranthes . Have Rhodophialas always got multiple flowers? I'm hopeless forgetting things confused and the Despot has been fast asleep for several hours now.....
 I see where you got the Ipheion thought from, until I cliked the photo they looked very much like that... but now I see the flowers are too campanulate. They grow well and multiply for your questioner, don't they?
 

[Maggi Young]

Looks like Rhodophialas DO mostly have multiple flower heads, from pix I can find in nearest book to hand ! Made me remember that Zephyranthes anre closely related to Habranthus.... could never tell them apart, either! Quick check reveals that Zephyranthes flowers are held straight up on the flower stalk and have stamens of equal lengths while Habranthus flowers are borne at an angle and stamens are unequal in length. Cannot see too well from the pix which is the case here, though I lean to the "equal stamens" from what I CAN see. Maybe it is one of the new hybrid amyrllids (spelling) being bred but it seems a bit unlikely those would have found their way to grow so well in a faraway place with no specialist nursery.  A real mystery!

[tonyg]

Thanks Maggi - two thoughts are better than one. Now we need an expert to get us closer to the mark.  And, yes I am a bit of a night owl ... but that really was my last move before bedtime 

[Hans J]

.

[Thomas Huber]

Hi Hans!

I knew you would know the name.
I was just about to send you a mail!

[Lesley Cox]

The flowers look like what I used to have as Zephranthes verecunda though that had very short stems, but I'd go for a zephranthes of some kind. Looks a nice thing. I couldn't stand 43C myself.

[Paul T]

Definitely a Zephyranthes or Habranthus, but couldn't be absolutely sure which one without a closeup of the flower, including full length view from the side etc.  Nice amount of flowers out at one time.  Some of them are definitely evergreen, even here in our colder conditions, so those being in the tropics could give them a different leaf timing/evergreen.  The fact that the only flower the once in the year should help with identification as many of them send up flowers at various times after rainfall, while some only flower at one time.  I don't know enough about the different species to know an ID, but I do know that features such as the outer colouration of the petals and the length of the floral tube etc are key identifying factors.

I must look up Z. simpsonii as I haven't heard of that one before.  I do grow a few different rainlilies when I can find them available, and have grown them from seed as well.

[Ezeiza]

Hi:

    Sorry for the long time, but only recently I have seen your posting. It is Habranthus robustus, a species growing in coastal areas of S. Brazil in full sun. Your plants seem to be lacking more direct sun as typically the flowers are pinkish around the mouth.


Regards