Help with a Roscoea ID

[Gabriela]

This is a Roscoea grown from seeds (AGS seedex), received as ‘R. tibetica-narrow leaves’.  I was able to tell right away it is not tibetica because of the distichous leaves and now the way the capsule develops confirms it.
I went through J. Cowley’s monograph, but without a key I really cannot get an answer. Maybe someone can help please; my Roscoeas? collection is increasing dangerously. It has one more flower that I could dissect.

All images - Roscoea 'tibetica narrow-leaves'

[arisaema]

I'll leave the checking of details for you, but it looks a bit like a Roscoea schneideriana I grew from Holubec seeds years ago.

[Growild]

I also have this plant. I've had it about 10 years (I think it originally came to me from Edrom). We've been selling it as Roscoea tibetica Narrow Leafed Form at the nursery for many years with the name which came with it. Personally I've never been happy with the name and do suspect this may be a new species ... flower shape is wrong for R. schneideriana.

[Gabriela]

I'll leave the checking of details for you, but it looks a bit like a Roscoea schneideriana I grew from Holubec seeds years ago.

Thanks for the try. I had a 'fight' with R. schneideriana a few years ago and here's a flower picture for everyone. It has one easy character to recognize when in flower - the anther appendages are white and rounded:

Roscoea schneideriana flower

[Gabriela]

I also have this plant. I've had it about 10 years (I think it originally came to me from Edrom). We've been selling it as Roscoea tibetica Narrow Leafed Form at the nursery for many years with the name which came with it. Personally I've never been happy with the name and do suspect this may be a new species ... flower shape is wrong for R. schneideriana.

Thanks Lisa. I suspected that the plant is circulated around in UK nurseries. There still is much confusion around the Roscoea species although J. Cowley's monograph published quite a few years ago brings some light to them. I think the responsible way is not to sell plants that one is not sure about the name, in the same way I would never sell seeds I am not sure about. We can leave them for exchanges with gardeners friends...Another option is to sell as Roscoea spp.-'collection name' so in the future they can be assigned the proper name.

This Roscoea? proves my point - people grow it, it easily sets seeds, they genuinely give them to seedex and keep 'propagating' confusion. My hope is that together we can clarify a few of them - I mean to say that I have another ?Roscoea one I'll post shortly 

Gabriela
Ontario, zone 5, Canada
htpp://botanicallyinclined.org

[Growild]

Thanks Lisa. I suspected that the plant is circulated around in UK nurseries. There still is much confusion around the Roscoea species although J. Cowley's monograph published quite a few years ago brings some light to them. I think the responsible way is not to sell plants that one is not sure about the name, in the same way I would never sell seeds I am not sure about. We can leave them for exchanges with gardeners friends...Another option is to sell as Roscoea spp.-'collection name' so in the future they can be assigned the proper name.

This Roscoea? proves my point - people grow it, it easily sets seeds, they genuinely give them to seedex and keep 'propagating' confusion. My hope is that together we can clarify a few of them - I mean to say that I have another ?Roscoea one I'll post shortly 

Gabriela
Ontario, zone 5, Canada
htpp://botanicallyinclined.org

I know what you mean Gabriela regards responsibility regarding selling plants you feel aren't quite right and for me and the nursery we have always kept names we are given until they can be proven incorrect either by the original collector etc but your suggestion is a good one to keep it as a sp. along with the collection name - we may in fact change this in our seed catalogue very soon! Look forward to seeing your other Roscoea

[Gabriela]

Well, as weird as may sound, I went to check the seedlings in the morning and found again this one masquerading as R. humeana (from AGS again)!

[Gabriela]

To conclude this thread about this Roscoea that goes around as 'tibetica narrow-leaves', here are the fresh seeds. Not bad for a Roscoea, flowering after 2 years from seeds, and even managed to produce more seeds!

Roscoea sp. (in the trade and in seed exchanges as R. 'tibetica narrow-leaves' and R. 'humeana'.

[Maggi Young]

To conclude this thread about this Roscoea that goes around as 'tibetica narrow-leaves', here are the fresh seeds. Not bad for a Roscoea, flowering after 2 years from seeds, and even managed to produce more seeds!

Quite an inspiring story to give hope to anyone who thinks growing such plants from seed will be an interminable project before any results are seen!

[Gabriela]

The Roscoea 'non-tibetica narrow leaves' has flowered again, so I dissected a couple of flowers and made careful measurements with my eyes on Jill Cowleys monograph.

Taking everything into consideration, it is yet another form of Roscoea scillifolia.
Because it was offered for sale and seeds given to seedex, some may want to change their labels. Not a highly ornamental plant I have to say but this species (under its many forms) may be extinct in the wild as J. Cowley mentions.
I will 'release' mine in the garden and if it wants to survive it is welcome to stay