Massonia 2016

[Hans J]

here are some pics from another interesting Massonia :

Massonia spec. Roggeveld

Those both plants have I received from a nice friend 

He has grown it from seeds ex Silverhill ...

We are not 100% sure if that are the same plants which are descriptet in PHYTOTAXA as Massoia roggeveldensis ...

Hans

[Tony Willis]

These are such lovely plants. Does jasminiflora have the scent implied in the name?

no that I can detect but it might be too cold for any to be produced.

[Gail]

Thanks Tony - am I right in remembering that Massonia are pollinated by rodents?

[angie]

Wow some lovely Massonia there. Mine are all happily growing so thanks friends for sharing these wonderful plants, aren't they so cute.

Angie 

[Rimmer de Vries]

Massonia depressa from NARGS seed  in bloom now

[Rimmer de Vries]

Massonia echinata from NARGS seed on bloom now.
This is the second year to bloom from a spring 2013 sowing and the leaves are now quite large.
In the past there have been discussions of hybridization in this species. Does thos look like the named species ?

[Rimmer de Vries]

Massonia echinata from seeds collected in Bredasdorp

[fermi de Sousa]

Massonia depressa from NARGS seed  in bloom now

Wow, Rimmer,
a great selection! Were they all from one packet of seed?
cheersfermi

[Rimmer de Vries]

Wow, Rimmer,
a great selection! Were they all from one packet of seed?
cheersfermi

For the Massonia echinata one packet had about a dozen seeds that made seedlings that looked all the same but some are bigger than others.
For The Massonia depressa only one plant of the 10 or so seedlings looked anything like M  depressa.

These 10 pots are what I kept from the 2013 seeds of M depressa and echinata and there is one purple  M pustulata in there.

[Paul Cumbleton]

The two subspecies of Massonia pygmaea. (ssp pygmaea with hairy leaves, ssp kamiesbergensis with smooth leaves)

I often wonder about the status of these two. They flower at the same time but leaves and habit are quite different (ssp kamiesbergensis flowers when the leaves are still emerging, ssp pygmaea when they are mostly expanded). They do both have the diagnostic feature of two sets of 3 stamens of differing lengths, yes, but in my plants one ssp has a style longer than the stamens, whereas in the other it is shorter.

Darren, the botanists at Graz University in Austria who are working on the Massonias have got back in touch to say they agree that the holotype of M. pygmaea is glabrous (not hairy) so they are at a loss to explain why Müller-Doblies described the glabrous one as subsp. kamiesbergensis. They say that there are several problems to sorting out the pygmaea complex - they are working on it but it will take some time.

Paul

[Darren]

Thanks for asking Paul. That fits with our thoughts too. Will keep my labels in pencil until someone works it out

[todoplant]

Beautiful Massonia pygmaea.

[Darren]

Beautiful Massonia pygmaea.

Very nice - rather like a form I grow from Penrock seed originating at Vanrhyns Pass. Flowers remind me of jasminiflora. I also note that the stamens appear to be all the same length (as they are on my plants) which doesn't see to agree with pygmaea.

[Tony Willis]

Massonia depressa,seed from Hans J.