Rain-lilies: Habranthus, Zephyranthes, Cooperia, etc. 2013

[jshields]

Well, this is the confirmation that it is the real thing,  exceedingly rare in cultivation. A tropical species, it has been disappearing from collections over the years. The problem with such plants it is that they demand warmish winter dormancy.

I have the hope that we could produce fertile seeds if I could get a different clone of this species.  I keep at least one pot of it in my warm (temp > 10°C) greenhouse over winter.  All my bulbs are clonal descendants of one single original bulb from I.B.S.  I would happily trade one for a different clone of this species --  one not descended from the I.B.S. stock.

Jim

[Ezeiza]

Pollen production and fertilization is far more succesful in a hot climate. Hence the zephyranthes success in Indonesia. They must remember their original tropical habitat eons ago.

[jshields]

Pollen production and fertilization is far more succesful in a hot climate. Hence the zephyranthes success in Indonesia. They must remember their original tropical habitat eons ago.

...and Z. guatemalensis is after all still a tropical plant.  Our summers can be almost tropical here, hot with warm, humid nights, but our winters are definitely not tropical.

[Ezeiza]

Your current interest in preserving this and other rare species makes me think of the tremendous damage to wild plants by Facebook and other sites through which the trade of threatened plants to end in the hands of stupid ignorant amateurs is a major force nowadays.

[jshields]

There is not the slightest doubt that this is true.  Facebook and eBay together have hugely facilitated exploitation of wild populations.  Forty years ago, unless you knew Len Doran (I did) you could not get the rare and unusual species of Hippeastrum.  Unless you knew Thad Howard and Marcia Wilson  (nee Clint) you did not get the unusual rain lilies they were discovering. 

I'll be happiest if we can find seeds and offsets of these rare plants already in someone's collections.

Jim

[Ezeiza]

Yes, I knew Len and my rainlilies from Mexico all came from Thad and from Marcia, which was a fabulous person. She had a peculiar voice, like that of Mahalia Jackson's. Many years after she passed away, I got in contact with her son who was a grown man by then, through someone in the web that had mentioned my name and it was both sad to remember her and sweet to learn news of her children she loved so much. She was a heavy smoker and had a premature dead, which is very sad for us all, as her work with the rainlilies was fantastic.

[arillady]

Fermi just for my own interest when did you have rain last and how long did they flower before rain?

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi just for my own interest when did you have rain last and how long did they flower before rain?

Hi Pat,
they usually flower a few days after it rains.
We had 10 mm Tuesday night and these pics were taken on Sunday,
cheers
fermi

[arillady]

I bet you get rain in the next day or two too Fermi

[Maggi Young]

Jim Shields is seeking Rain Lilies - see http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11083.0

[jshields]

Jim Shields is seeking Rain Lilies - see http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11083.0

Thanks very much, Maggi, for mentioning this.  I am looking for species, not hybrids.  I don't want to deal with hybrids, at least not until I get a good handle one the species.  There seem to be a lot more species now that when I last collected rain lilies about 25 years ago.  I'm also looking for PDF files of papers describing those new species over the past 25 years.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I'll have stuff to trade in the next couple of years.  Right now it's much to cold here to ship tender bulbs.

Jim

[fermi de Sousa]

I posted a pic of this in March and it's in flower again - in fact it flowered a week ago as you can see a seed-pod already formed,
Habranthus (?robustus) 'Russell Manning',
cheer
fermi

[jshields]

I just got a package of seeds from Mauro.   Christmas came 2 days late this year!

Jim

[PeterT]

I am waiting on one from Chileflora, I decided to ration myself -so none from Mauro this Christmas 

[jshields]

I am waiting on one from Chileflora, I decided to ration myself -so none from Mauro this Christmas 

Peter, that's no fun.