May 2015 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Hoy]

Thanks for those amazing pictures Hoy. Did you find it easy to travel in Patagonia? Did you visit Northern Chile too? Are they well set up for tourism or a challenging destination? I don't speak Spanish obviously.

You are welcome, Jamus!

I was with a group and all organized but I think it is not difficult to travel alone - but probably you need to speak Spanish (and you need a car). Some roads were good and some where dirt roads. The hotels in the small villages were also excellent where we stayed. Patagonia is big and I have only been in Neuquen. We did not visit Chile) Although it is flowers everywhere (many European unwanted ones) I also think you need a guide or do a lot of homework before you go. But it depends on what you want to see.

Trond

[Jupiter]

Thanks Trond, a guide or an organised group would be the way to go. My wife Rebecca wouldn't put up with trekking off into the wilderness like some mad, plant obsessed explorer. She demands a certain level of comfort. Did you see rosulate violas?

EIDT: Trond I just answered my own question when I went over to the Viola thread! Sensational pictures.

[Matt T]

My Paramongaia weberbaueri opened today. Pot has just been sitting in full sun all summer with no water until the first leaves appeared.

Looks good, Anthony! What kind of size is it? I.e. height of plant/scape and size of flower?

[Matt T]

These are O. adenophylla.

The cushion form of the plant in photograph DSC04672 is quite striking!

[vivienne Condon]

Lovely to see the Oxalis flowering in the wild Hoy Thank you

[Anthony Darby]

The Paramongaia is super Anthony. Is it South american? I have a couple of SAs with specific name of weberbaueri. And is it related to Narcissus (i.e. Amaryllidaceae?)

This form, which is winter flowering, comes from coastal Peru. It is in the Amaryllidaceae.

Looks good, Anthony! What kind of size is it? I.e. height of plant/scape and size of flower?

I'll make some measurements, but be assured, if I make a circle with my middle fingers and thumbs, the flower is bigger.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig. The pot is 25 cm (10") from edge to edge; the flower stem is 28 cm from gravel surface to join with flower stalk; the trumpet is 8 cm across the tips and the widest measurement for the flower is 21 cm across.

[Matt T]

Wow! That is one BIG flower!

[Jupiter]

I did a double take when I read the size of that flower Anthony! what a beauty. By the way the Albuca and Cyrtanthus seed you sent me are both doing very well.

[Anthony Darby]

Yes, I was surprised how big the flower is, even though I've seen pictures on web sites. I'll take a picture with something to show the scale tomorrow. It has a lovely scent too. I have it under the gazebo at the moment as it is chucking down tonight. First serious rain for months.

[Anthony Darby]

Here's an indication of size.

[Jupiter]

Fantastic bulb.    Keep an eye on that seed capsule Anthony... 

[Anthony Darby]

Alas, you need two different clones to get seed. I have pollinated it, but am not hopeful.

[Hoy]

The cushion form of the plant in photograph DSC04672 is quite striking!

They came in all seizes, very much depending on soil and moisture, and light of course

Lovely to see the Oxalis flowering in the wild Hoy Thank you

You are welcome, Vivienne!


Here is a yellow cushion:

[Hoy]

Anthony, the Paramongaia is very impressive!

[Lesley Cox]

Viv, I'm pretty sure that Peter's 'Seven Bells' (with reference to his career in the British Navy and his second-in-command status (I think) during the Falklands War) is a selection from the wild. It is certainly pure laciniata, not a hybrid. Seed from that one would be exciting but there is huge variation within laciniata. Even here, there are perhaps half a dozen clones in various shades. My best is a clear blue though not so dark as SB while the others range from deep pinks through magenta. I like the blues best, such an unexpected colour in Oxalis.