Erythronium 2014

[Ian Y]

Steve, are you saying that the first of your photos (the light flowered E. hendersonii) is from Ron Ratko seed? It looks to me like it could be a hybrid with E. oregonum, with the yellow halo and slightly flattened filaments a result of the genetic influence of E. oregonum. There are a few places where the ranges of these two species meet and natural hybrids are found, so it could be that Ron was collecting from one of these areas...

Exactly my thoughts Ed, when ever I see yellow in the flower of E. hendersonii I suspect it is a hybrid and clearly the filaments in Steve's picture show some flattening - non the less it is a wonderful plant and may have that added advantage that many hybrids have is that it will increase by division.

Taking of hybrids I have been assessing some in flower just now mostly E. revolutum hybrids with either E. oregonum or E. californicum - I show some below.

1- Hybrid 1 has the best leaves.
2- Hybrid 1 flower has the darkest centre marking
3- Hybrid 2 leaves
4- Hybrid 2 flower
5- Hybrid 3 leaves
Many of these have very similar flowers I have a few with much darker flowers.

[Ian Y]

A sister seedling to the hybrids in the last post that looks like it is just the  species E. revolutum, no visual evidence suggests otherwise.

Now a group of Erythronium revolutum with multi flowered stems.
Close up of showing many stems have three flowers.

On the other end of the scale is this small Erythronum revolutum - I see it very distinct from most of the other E. revolutums we grow. It is always small single flowered and it's flowers have a distinct shape and way of reflexing- I call it wild form but many of our original forms were also raised from seed of wild origins.

[Brian Ellis]

Wonderful patterning on those leaves Ian, I might be developing another plant infatuation

[Robert]

Ian,

Your Erythroniums are awesome! 

[Steve Garvie]

Exactly my thoughts Ed, when ever I see yellow in the flower of E. hendersonii I suspect it is a hybrid and clearly the filaments in Steve's picture show some flattening - non the less it is a wonderful plant and may have that added advantage that many hybrids have is that it will increase by division.

Taking of hybrids I have been assessing some in flower just now mostly E. revolutum hybrids with either E. oregonum or E. californicum - I show some below.

1- Hybrid 1 has the best leaves.
2- Hybrid 1 flower has the darkest centre marking
3- Hybrid 2 leaves
4- Hybrid 2 flower
5- Hybrid 3 leaves
Many of these have very similar flowers I have a few with much darker flowers.

Steve, are you saying that the first of your photos (the light flowered E. hendersonii) is from Ron Ratko seed? It looks to me like it could be a hybrid with E. oregonum, with the yellow halo and slightly flattened filaments a result of the genetic influence of E. oregonum. There are a few places where the ranges of these two species meet and natural hybrids are found, so it could be that Ron was collecting from one of these areas...

Hi Ed and Ian. Many thanks for your comments.

The first two images are of the same "plant" with image one showing a fresh flower and the second image showing the mature flower (with fading yellow halo, though the amount of yellow varied between different flowers). I have long lost the original labels but think that the pale plants are probably from Ron Ratko seed. Of the three "hendersonii" types I have this is the one that most readily multiplies up (though is still quite slow). I hadn't given any thought to this plant being a natural hybrid (I suspect that the "plant" is actually a few different individuals grown from seed -perhaps part of a hybrid swarm containing oregonum genes with some flowers expressing more oregonum trait than others?).

[Tim Ingram]

I'm with you Brian - erythroniums are so beautiful even when you only grow 'White Beauty' and 'Pagoda', but my eyes are really being opened to them! Dimitri's picture of E. caucasicum with those orange-red stems stands out, along with some of these hendersonii hybrids. Really wonderful plants. I wonder if Ray Drew has increased his collection after his tremendous display at the Essex AGS Local Group Show last year? I remember in particular 'Craighton Cover Girl' - great name!

[Maggi Young]

'Craighton Cover Girl' -   actually 'Craigton Cover Girl' - no "h" in there - got her name when she was  featured on the cover of a copy of The Rock Garden  - Number 108 of January 2002- http://files.srgc.net/journals/vol_1%20to_113/108.pdf.
Bit of a shock to realise that is twelve years ago now. 
That issue contains Ian's article on growing "Bulbs from Seed" pages 202 -211.

[Maggi Young]

'Craigton Cover Girl'  on her first public appearance.....

[Ed Alverson]

The wide expanses of revolutum are just breathtaking, David.
The white is not a revolutum- its a californicum hyybrid - white pollen and narrow filaments.

Beautiful - but not as glorious as the pinks, eh?

At one time, "White Beauty" was commonly listed as a selection of E. revolutum, which would explain why one might think it should be E. revolutum. Just to complicate the situation, there is a population in northern California that has white flowers but otherwise morphologically matches E. revolutum. I have not yet had a chance to see it in the wild, but there is a photo on p. 218 of the book "California's Wild Gardens" (which by the way is an excellent guide to the wonder's of California's flora).

[Ed Alverson]

A sister seedling to the hybrids in the last post that looks like it is just the  species E. revolutum, no visual evidence suggests otherwise.

Now a group of Erythronium revolutum with multi flowered stems.
Close up of showing many stems have three flowers.

On the other end of the scale is this small Erythronum revolutum - I see it very distinct from most of the other E. revolutums we grow. It is always small single flowered and it's flowers have a distinct shape and way of reflexing- I call it wild form but many of our original forms were also raised from seed of wild origins.

Ian, I like your small, single-flowered reflexed E. revolutum - it improves on some of the "deficiencies" (if one could use that term for Erythronium) of E. revolutum. Even in the wild most populations I see have flowers that do not open up or reflex very well, and in the garden the leaves can be a bit more "beefy" than one might like.

One additional benefit of growing plants from seed, as you so often promote, is that the more seedlings you grow the better the odds that one of your plants might be one of the 0.1% that increase by offsets.

[Ian Y]

Ed with regard to  a white Erythronium revolutum most of what I have seen in cultivation with that name are either E. oregonum, californicum or a hybrid however I have been watching a white seedling in our garden for three years now and I see no eveidence that is not consistent with E.revolutum.
As you might suspect it shows no signs of wanting to increase.

I showed it in last weeks bulb log along with many others.

[Mavers]

Knightshayes is breathtaking in the spring isn't it David........sadly I've not managed to get there to see the erythroniums this year.

Wonderful photos everyone.

[Giles]

Not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere:
http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=1046&utm_source=Spring+2014&utm_campaign=Spring+2014&utm_medium=email

[mark smyth]

Keith Wiley and his Erythroniums coming up on gardeners world

[mark smyth]

What a sight they were!