Nepalese seed

[Mick McLoughlin]

Over a year ago I recieved some seed from a forumist of seed collected in the wild from Nepal. I have at least 4 different varieties from seed labelled as Cremanthodium or Saussurea. Would anybody have any idea what I have got from these photos or be able to point me in the direction of a website useful for identification?
Regards
Mick

[Lesley Cox]

Surely the first is neither Cremanthodium nor Saussurea but some kind of umbellifer? And the last looks incredibly like what we call kumara and you would call sweet potato (which I think is a Convolvulus species). Probably not though, if it came from Nepal.

[arisaema]

I agree with Leslie on the first one, looks like an umbellifer. The second is a Saussurea, or possibly a Ligularia or Cremanthodium. The fourth one looks like an Anisodus, Physalis or possibly Physochlaina.

[Mick McLoughlin]

Thanks for the responses Lesley and Arisaema. I will keep an eye on them and keep you posted of any developments.
Cheers
Mick

[Richard Green]

Number 3 looks exactly what I currently have growing from wild collected seed from Chris Chadwell.  This was labelled "Saussurea graminifolia" but I have not been able to trace a picture yet.

[Mick McLoughlin]

Richard,
I had seen that on here:
http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Grass%20Leaved%20Saw-wort.html
and thought it was similar.
Cheers
Mick
or here:
http://www.asianflora.com/Asteraceae/Saussurea-graminifolia.htm

[Lori S.]

Plant #3 doesn't appear to have serrated leaf edges (does it?) as the photos of Saussurea graminifolia show - the leaves appear to be entire, unless my eyes fail me.  Some other Saussurea, perhaps?
Here's a Saussurea graminifolia seedling from this year, from the SRGC seedex:

[Maggi Young]

I thought the main foliage was indeed "grass-like" and that the saw-toothed part only came into play on the leaf parts of the flower spike? 

[Lori S.]

Well, I'm confused... the description says the leaves are grass-like, as one would expect from the species name.  But the upper leaves/bracts on the inflorescence are toothed, are they not?  Oddly, the description doesn't mention this detail.

Well, one thing seems clear to me... I have a mislabelled plant.     Perhaps I should post it separately, unless any one has a quick ID?

[Maggi Young]

Oddly, the description doesn't mention this detail.

It never ceases to amaze me the details that are NOT listed in even formal descriptions of plants  let alone "write-ups" in books .....not saying that a plant is herbaceous or that the leaves die down before flowering, that kind of thing. 

[Lesley Cox]

It is frequently the one thing that absolutely identifies a pleant, that is NOT mentioned in the books/catalogues.

This should probably go in germinationg now but it's not active at present so I'll mention that my Cyananthus lobatus albus seeds are coming along nicely (if correctly named) and they were from AGS not SRGC. However, yesterday, a good many little seedlings from SRGC of what purports to be Gaultheria sinensis. I had doubts at the time as there were so many and they were both larger and blacker than I wolod have expected. They are looking extremely like small poppies, alpinum or similar, even at the cotyledon stage. G. s I'm sure they are NOT.

[Richard Green]

Mick's and my plants seem to fit the "asianflora" photo of graminifolia although mine does not have the cottonwool at the base yet, but it does have persistent leaf bases.  Lori's pic does not look like the same plant - having wide basal leaves.  Unfortunately I do not have access to a good flora of the area.

[Mick McLoughlin]

An update on plant 4. It looks like Arisaema was correct with his suggestion of Physalis.

[shelagh]

Might be good to eat Mick even if it's not show bench material.