Sternbergia 2009

[Maggi Young]

Tony, it would be interesting to hear if those still open at just before 5 pm , when you posted,  are still open when it is fully dark?


Herbert, your display outside by your wall is lovely!

[Tony Willis]

Maggi at the moment they are but I will check again before I go to bed.

[Anthony Darby]

Sternbergia sicula must have the widest distribution of any plant, if "kosmos" is to be believed?

[Tony Willis]

Tony, it would be interesting to hear if those still open at just before 5 pm , when you posted,  are still open when it is fully dark?

Maggi I can now confirm at 10.50pm that I have both subspecies

openfloweratnightii and closedfloweratnightii both from the same batch of seed.

I am now wondering if there is any significance in the way the leaves rotate on different plants. On some the leaf tips are turned clockwise and on others counterclockwise? This is clearly visible on different collections.

[Paul T]

Tony,

So would that mean you may eventually end with both openfloweratnightii and closedfloweratnightii with formas clockwiseiana and counterclockwiseiana?  Could you then give a varietal name to one of the night open ones as well?  

I think saddling it with an epithet like Sternbergia sicula ssp openfloweratnightii forma counterclockwiseiana 'Midnight Sun' might be a little rough though, even if that would be a cool name.     Then again, maybe someone will do so and I can sit back and let the royalty cheques roll in. 

[Maggi Young]

I am reminded of those famous words, uttered by  Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind" .........


.....but the BD will be interested! 

[Hans A.]

Do not know if it is still of interest - until now all clones of S. lutea and S. sicula close the flowers at night - S. greuteriana is still dormant.

[dominique]

Sternbergia greuteriana with seeds in the future.....

[Oron Peri]

Sternbergia greuteriana with seeds in the future.....

hooo, that's a good one Dom ,
Great to see all parts of the plant at the same time, intresting to see the plain leaves too, with no white strip in the middle

[Tony Willis]

a couple of 'species' of sternbergia showing different flower shapes

Sternbergia lutea
Sternbergia sicula

[Melvyn Jope]

Another Sternbergia shape, this time a S. sicula from near Rethymno.
I have followed the same steps as Tony and have been looking at my Sternbergia at night and there is no consistency, some remain open others are closed. I wonder if it has anything to do with whether or not they have been pollinated. I cannot check on what I call S. greuteriana ( originally from Omalos) as mine finished flowering about a month ago.
 I was aware that Paul Wilkin was writing a paper as he came to see my plants and he mentioned that they would all be regarded as forms of S. lutea. I am not a botanist but when I see the morphology of my largest S. lutea and compare with S. greuteriana I think it requires some method of defining the various forms, perhaps as described by Rodger in his post on 25th September, at least we would then know what is being described.

[Gerry Webster]

 I was aware that Paul Wilkin was writing a paper as he came to see my plants and he mentioned that they would all be regarded as forms of S. lutea. I am not a botanist but when I see the morphology of my largest S. lutea and compare with S. greuteriana I think it requires some method of defining the various forms, perhaps as described by Rodger in his post on 25th September, at least we would then know what is being described.

This would be nice Melvyn but,  given the range of forms shown on the forum, I suspect the list of definitions  would be as long as my arm. The phrase "infinite variety" comes to mind.

[Oron Peri]

Starting to flower what I have as S. angustifolia. [S. lutea x sicula].

I received these plants about 12 years ago, they never set seeds, which might indicate that it is an hybrid.

[Gerry Webster]

Oron - when it appears I would be interested to see the foliage on this plant. The plants I have under this name have leaves which are  intermediate between sicula & lutea in width & more-or-less upright. However plants are currently being distributed under this name in the UK with foliage much more like sicula - very narrow & almost prostrate.

By the way, my plants are self-sterile but can be pollinated by sicula.

[Oron Peri]

Oron - when it appears I would be interested to see the foliage on this plant. The plants I have under this name have leaves which are  intermediate between sicula & lutea in width & more-or-less upright. However plants are currently being distributed under this name in the UK with foliage much more like sicula - very narrow & almost prostrate.

By the way, my plants are self-sterile but can be pollinated by sicula.

Gerry thanks for your comment, i find it very intresting that it set seeds being pollinated with sicula, would never think about it...
as i remember the leaves are upright as you have described, i will post a photo when they appear.