South African bulbose plants 2007

[mark smyth]

Maggi remind me next summer when they are dormant to send you some or now that are just coming in to growth again can I lift some now?

[Rogan]

I recently came upon this little Tritonia on a hillside in the Little Karoo - is it a form of T. crocata?

[Paul T]

Rogan,

Unusual form to it, but very lovely.  That upper petal being so prominent and the dark anthers gives a great effect.  Trinonia species are quite variable in habit, size, flower form etc, so I can't be any help in identifying.  I don't recall having seen a flower of that form before, but I am not a serious Tritonia collector.

Mark, Fermi etc....

I've always wondered why some taller hybrids are labelled under the Tritonia crocata name.  To me they resemble far more Tritonia lineata, with it's veining etc like in your picture.  There are named ones of lineata like 'Bridesmaid White, 'Pretty Pink' and 'Prince of Orange' (or is this one labelled as crocata?) and they are relatively tall and stand up, whereas the crocatas I have seen are short (Freesia size) with a flower arrangement similar to a freesia rather than going "up" a stem (if you know what I mean).  I also find that the Tritonia lineatas can travel quite readily and I have to wonder as to them being stoloniferous or not.  T. crocata is well behaved and stays as a nice modest clump.  Then there is Tritonia deusta which is very similar...... just to confuse things.  This is all assuming that what I have seen as each of these IS actually correctly labelled. 

[Maggi Young]

Mark, thanks for the offer, I'll remind you if I remember! I wouldn't lift them now.


Rogan, I have no idea as to the correct naming for your white Karoo Tritonia, I can only agree that is it lovely. It is a real pleaseure to me to see these things from the wild.

[mark smyth]

Paul my plants are short and with no tape at work I would say no taller than a cheque book

Rogan I'll give you all my orange Tritonia for that white one! I wish I knew of you when I last visited Durban. My relatives know nothing about wild flowers

[Paul T]

Mark,

They look so much like the taller types in flower form, but then again that may also be something to do with sun intensity for you, which obviously is different to us here.  Right at the moment it is unseasonably hot here, with 31'C both days over the weekend and a minimum of around 15'C last night (Yuk!), all of which are rather warm for now to put it mildly.  Given the height of summer isn't until January/February it isn't looking promising! 

[mark smyth]

sun intensity!! More like lack of for most of the time

[Paul T]

Exactly!!    Given here at the moment we can very easily get sunburnt if we're not careful, and bushfires already breaking out around the Sydney region etc...... our warmth factor is a tad higher in spring than yours.  Then again, our spring 31'C is probably higher than most of your summer isn't it? 

[t00lie]

Rogan --your plant looks very much like Tritonia pallida which is found in the Karoo Mountains .

Cheers dave.

[Rogan]

Rogan I'll give you all my orange Tritonia for that white one! I wish I knew of you when I last visited Durban. My relatives know nothing about wild flowers

It's a beauty - I have asked the landowner to collect seed, so if we're lucky I'll have some to go around at a later date.

Thanks to all who have come up with suggestions for a name, I'll have to stop being so lazy and consult the reference books!

For someone as besotted by horticulture as I am it seems very odd that there are people in the world who know very little about wild plants - send them up to me and I'll educate them!  And the next time you're in Durban...

[mark smyth]

Rogan what has happened to the man in Durban who grew and sold SA bulbs.

[Rogan]

I'm not very well informed on Durban nurserymen, but are you thinking of Greg Petit (Green Goblin), who no longer sells plants to the public - as far as I know, or Geoff Nichols (Silverglen Nursery) who has now left the trade?

[Paul T]

Howdy Mark et al,



A quick pic of my Tritonia crocata, such a glorious colour.

[Maggi Young]

That's a yummy colour, Paul, and looks so good next to the silvery foliage of its neighbours.

[Paul T]

Maggi,

Yeah, the good old silver-leafed Gazanias.  You just can't beat Gazanias for lasting colour in our climate.  In that area I have 3 different silver leafed ones, one orange, one pink, and one yellow flowered.