South African Bulbs 2015

[fermi de Sousa]

Babiana ringens, complete with perch for pollinating birds. Tomorrow's evolution lesson sorted. 

Our plant of Babiana ringens is in the rock garden and only flowering now, a whole month after Anthony's,
cheers
fermi

[Rogan]

I enjoy your Babiana, Fermi, replete with its ridiculous "bird-perch".

[Anthony Darby]

I've now got big fat seed pods.

[ArnoldT]

Here's two stages of Gethyllis linearis.

Flowers in July, seed pod with emergent leaf tips on another bulb now.

[Maggi Young]

Here's two stages of Gethyllis linearis.

Flowers in July, seed pod with emergent leaf tips on another bulb now.

   Fascinating - could be something from under the sea!

[fermi de Sousa]

I got this gladdie from Greg Boldiston of Longinomus Plants in Romsey. He enthused about its scent when it undergoes a colour change in the evening.
No change at sunset but later the difference was amazing and the scent is great too,
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

The capacity of plants to amaze, delight  and probably confuse us, too, is endless, isn't it?   

[François Lambert]

Growing somewhere between the tomatoes and the bell peppers my Nerine Bowdenii are in full display nowadays.  And the shelter they receive in the greenhouse is very beneficial to the flowering.

[Rogan]

I look forward to this time of the year when Lachenalia nervosa (syn. L. latifolia) blooms; its sweet-scented flowers can fill a room with fragrance if brought indoors in a pot.

The hills are alive with thousands of Moraea bellendenii flowers at the moment. This is a slender Moraea that looks good in the garden if planted en masse.

[Robert]

Rogan,

I enjoy seeing your native flora. For me very  .

If I understand correctly the photographs are from your local area, i.e. zone 10ish and summer dry (i.e. no rain during the summer like most of California)?

What are the summertime maximum temperatures in your area? Coastal California can be very lacking in rainfall during the summer but the summertime fog from the ocean keeps temperatures very cool, and things somewhat moist (kind a' like parts of Coastal Chile) compared to inland areas like where we live where it can get very hot. Maybe South Africa has a similar weather situation near where you live?

[Maggi Young]

As a matter of  interest - following discussion of these plants in the AGS Harlow Carr show thread....

Quoting from Motomu Nagaoka on Facebook - alongside photos of  Polyxena/Lachenalia  - pygmaea, ensifolia and longituba --------

"subgenus Polyxena another 3 species

I quote the part of the key table about these 3 species below as same as last raised."


  Key to the species of subgenus Polyxena

1a Perianth tube 12-27 mm long ......................................2
1b Perianth tube 3-8 mm long ..........................................4
2a Style 24-36 mm long; filaments well exerted; flowers almond-scented; seeds globose ......................................................................L. pygmaea
2b Style 11-20 mm long; filaments included to shortly exerted; flowers spicy sweet-scented; seeds ovoid ....................................3
3a Perianth tube subterranean; outer tepals 4-5 mm wide ...L. longituba
3b Perianth tube aerial; outer tepals 2-3 mm wide ................L. ensifolia

[Rimmer de Vries]

Thanks Maggie so which one is this one?  came as Polyxena sp? Silverhill 4748

the leaves are about 1" long. flower is gone now- bloomed a few weeks ago.

[Maggi Young]

My guess is P. ensifolia - but it's just a guess - you're in a better position to make measurements etc, Rimmer ....  in another FB post, Motomu Nagaoka quotes this ( automatic translation, so a bit  idiosyncratic!)

"The following is about polyxena ensifolia.

First of all,-bear air differences, but the pivot bear air flowers (style) is 24-36 mm length is for, p. Ensifolia and p. Longituba is length 11-20 mm. And then, Pivot Bear Air's seed is round (Globose) for, the latter of the two egg-shaped. P. Ensifolia and p. Longituba key difference of the flowers, and the latter is when the land of the present, p. Ensifolia flowers is far from the ground, and they have a tip of the axis.

 I write in pygmaea from the history, p. Ensifolia is p. Pygmaea and  these can be confused.

In addition, this species is also variants, sub-species  Polyxena ensifolia subsp. Ensifolia and p. Ensifolia Subsp. Maughanii. Standard Sub-species is a long of three books and the 内花 (all the bull and to all the flowers) is a cylinder to jut out from subsp. Maughanii is the flowers in the cylinder to fit. "   !!

 It would be much easier to   get the Duncan book and read it in English.

[fermi de Sousa]

This moraea came "free" in a pot with another bulb many years ago and I think it is Moraea gracilenta,
cheers
fermi

[Michael J Campbell]

Moraea polystachya