April 2021 in the Southern Hemisphere

[David Lyttle]

First you have got to find your buttercup

[Maggi Young]

First you have got to find your buttercup

Now that's what you call camouflage !! In leaf it couldn't  be  better hidden, could it?

[David Lyttle]

Now that's what you call camouflage !! In leaf it couldn't  be  better hidden, could it?

Yes Maggi, the cryptic colour pattern on the leaves blends perfectly with the screes in which they grow. In different places they match the local rock type. Another unusual feature of the plant is that the mature seed head grows downwards burying the seeds in the soil. They only really become noticeable when in flower which forms a wonderful contrast with the scree.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi David,
the New Zealand flora is number one for camouflage and other defenses against predation!
Eremophila debilis is one of our locals and has pretty berries but the flowers are almost invisible!
cheers
fermi

[David Lyttle]

Hi Fermi,
We once had moas and they ate things apparently, so a lot of the odd features of the New Zealand flora have been attributed to adaptations to moa browsing. There is a vast literature on the subject which I am not going to review. I guess Australian plants are in general unpalatable so nothing eats them so when your brush-tailed possums come over here they thrive, grow fat and multiply. We have removed over 16000 from the Otago Peninsula which has allowed the native vegetation here to recover with increases in native birds.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi David,
gardeners in Australia probably hate possums as much as you do but we aren't allowed to kill them as they are a protected species here. I really liked the merino-possum jumper I bought when we were in NZ 
Here are a few more things in bloom now:
1) Narcissus viridiflorus
2) Nerine pink hybrid
3) Nerine rosea
4) Moraea polystachya
5) Zauschneria cana
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

1) Crocus goulimyi from Hillview, possibly 'Mani White'
2) Crocus longiflorus from seed as something else
3 & 4) Crocus caspius a kind gift from Otto
5) Cyclamen mirabile ex Tilebarn Nicholas - from AGS Seedex
cheers
fermi

[Jupiter]

beautiful Crocus Fermi. I agree the first one is what I have as 'Mani White'. Is the C. caspius the one collected by Paul Furse?

[fermi de Sousa]

beautiful Crocus Fermi. I agree the first one is what I have as 'Mani White'. Is the C. caspius the one collected by Paul Furse?

Hi Jamus,
I got it from Otto but the label is faded/broken. I think he said it was originally from Paul Furse,
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

A few more from the garden
1) Narcissus 07-02T (Narcissus tazetta subsp. lacticolor x N. elegans)
2 & 3) Nerine 'Ariel'
4) Narcissus 'First Stanza' (N. elegans x Soleil D'Or)
5) Polyxena (Lachenalia) longituba
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

1) Crocus cartwrightianus ex 'Halloween' from seed from SRGC Seedex 2015
2) Oxalis massoniana
3) Oxalis purpurea white form found in a local cemetery
4) Crocus longiflorus from a supplier as something else! A bit different to the one I posted earlier
5) Oxalis flava var succulenta
cheers
fermi