Not Delphinium brunonianum

[Roma]

This Delphinium came from the AGS 2014/15 seedlist.  The flowers are fairly small.  Not a very exciting plant.  Any ideas?

[Gabriela]

Went outside to see the latest chipmunks casualties and noticed that mine is also flowering. It is not brunonianum for sure - too tall and different flower shape. I will take close-ups when the flowers open but they are not easy to ID. Meanwhile here is the impostor as seedlings.

[Roma]

It is often difficult to identify a misnamed plant grown from exchange seed but I do wish people would make sure their plants are correct before sending in seed.  This plant is clearly not brunonianum.

[Giles]

..similar frustration here, Roma.
This is what I grew as Delphinium brunonianum from the 2015/16 AGS seed exchange.
I'm pretty sure it's going to be larkspur (Consolida ajacis) and I doubt it was sent in, in good faith.

[Maggi Young]

It is many years since I got  true D. brunonianum from our  seed exchange - sad facts but true that this is one of those  often  mis-named seeds.

[Gabriela]

It is many years since I got  true D. brunonianum from our  seed exchange - sad facts but true that this is one of those  often  mis-named seeds.

Maybe species that are known to be often mis-named could be marked somehow in the seedex list?
Cannot take pictures yet, too sunny still @ 32C! but it seems to be the most regular D. elatum. How can it be mistaken with brunonianum is beyond my understanding.

[Lesley Cox]

Often one plant comes in as another but here, yours Gabriela and yours Giles are two quite different plants. Maybe the desire some of us have for the true D. brunonianum is being fed by anyone who has some "close" seed, with the expectation of kudos to be won?
I like your suggestion Gabriela but it could add quite a lot of work for the list compiler and of course now and then the true plant may actually be there and shunned because of the usual problem.

Two strong contenders would be Gypsophila cerstioides masquerading as G. aretioides and Stylophorum lasiocarpum or diphyllum masquerading as Hylomecon japonicum.

There are really no excuses. We have so many wonderful books available to us as well as the huge world of the internet which just about everyone uses. I always look up plants new to me if I don't know them, just to ensure I have the right thing. Doesn't everyone? We should. (It's why I'm almost suffering mental breakdown over irises!!!)

[Gabriela]

Lesley, my Delphinium is from AGS 14/15 seedex - just like the one Roma has. I usually don't get too frustrated anymore, unless is something I started under lights in the winter. Space is at premium and I have to do a tough selection for what gets to have a longer growing season.

You are right, of course. Would be impossible to mark them and choose what to mark and what not. I am sure everyone sends in seeds with very good intentions and in the desire to share, but certainly a bit more care in regards with the names would be welcomed.

Here are two images with it - D. elatum or a hybrid in my opinion. The important thing is that's not D. brunonianum.

[Roma]

Two flower spikes this year.  The taller one is just over a metre. 

[Maggi Young]

Our forum's  "Seeds to scale " project is one way to assist the seed folks in checking that seed is at least in the same genus as it claims to be. Huge amount of work put into that in these pages, though I doubt  many who could use it to good advantage do so.
 Sigh.

[Gabriela]

Yes, I doubt it too many will take the time to check at least the genus before sending seeds for seedex.

Here's my Delphinium in question; I kept two plants, one with black 'honey-leaves' like Roma has, one with whites - which got over 1.5 m! - for the delight of the hummingbird.
But, for someone to mistake this for brunonianum is out of the question




I also got couple of things from 2017 SRGS seedex which were not true to name, I don't know if something real can be done regarding this problem.

[Maggi Young]

I imagine the complete removal of wrongly named plants is impossible from any seed exchange - but I had hoped that the Seed Team would  take heed of our project and  employ it to "weed" out some  obvious errors  before the seed is packed.
Who knows - the South West folks have  grasped the nettle and instituted fully labelled  seed packets  so there may yet be hope!

[Gabriela]

I imagine the complete removal of wrongly named plants is impossible from any seed exchange - but I had hoped that the Seed Team would  take heed of our project and  employ it to "weed" out some  obvious errors  before the seed is packed.
Who knows - the South West folks have  grasped the nettle and instituted fully labelled  seed packets  so there may yet be hope!

We can only live in hope Maggi, there is no other option

[Carolyn]

I imagine the complete removal of wrongly named plants is impossible from any seed exchange - but I had hoped that the Seed Team would  take heed of our project and  employ it to "weed" out some  obvious errors  before the seed is packed.
Who knows - the South West folks have  grasped the nettle and instituted fully labelled  seed packets  so there may yet be hope!

As part of the seedex seed distribution team (I'm the one usually responsible for filling extra packets as work proceeds) I do make use of the photos on the forum if there are seeds I am not sure about. We do reject any which are obviously wrong! I don't think it will be possible to eliminate all wrongly named seeds. We need to rely on members trying to be accurate. I think it is not just that people provide the wrong name - sometimes when dealing with several packets at the same time, members might mix up the names - I have done it myself with 2 sorts of euphorbia for my own use - discovered it the following spring when they germinated. Then I was left worrying that I had sent in wrongly labelled euphorbia seeds to the exchange. There will always be some human errors!

[Gabriela]

Carolyn,
I had no intention of starting, yet again, a discussion about this. In my opinion the Seedex team has enough of a giant task with packing and distributing the seeds.
It would be impossible to track wrongly labeled seeds, and in many cases it is really impossible again to differentiate between the species of a genus.

My comments hint to the people donating seeds to be more careful and try to ID their plants before rushing to send seeds. Better to write for example Primula spp. (?) if the species is not clear than a wrong name.

Btw - Incarvillea younghusbandii of this year (SRGS seedex) was some other Incarvillea. Maybe the donor reads this...