Scilla 2009

[Diane Clement]

I read this today in an atricle about splitting up the genus Scilla to make more sense of it.  It does make sense of the whole fertile intergeneric hybrid thing with Scilla and Chionodoxa. I'm not normally a splitter by the way. 

This is an interesting development and some of these new groupings mentioned in the PBS article are now accepted by Kew in their recent monocot database (Fessia, Barnardia).  However, the Kew list does not go along with the statement "no evidence exists to support the separation of Muscari into the genera Muscarimia, Leopoldia, or Pseudomuscari" as it has brought back Leopoldia and Pseudomuscari, but rejected Muscarimia.

More intriguing are the Kew family changes.  They (all the little blue bulbs and relatives) have all been taken out of previous genus Hyacinthaceae and put into Asparagaceae (!), along with Hosta, Agave and various other genera previously not believed very closely related from other families.
DNA research is certainly turning up some odd proposals

[Sinchets]

More intriguing are the Kew family changes.  They (all the little blue bulbs and relatives) have all been taken out of previous genus Hyacinthaceae and put into Asparagaceae (!), along with Hosta, Agave and various other genera previously not believed very closely related from other families. DNA research is certainly turning up some odd proposals

I hadn't heard this- and it really is supported by DNA research?

[Diane Clement]

I hadn't heard this- and it really is supported by DNA research?   

I believe most of the recent changed are from DNA research, but some may be due to taxonomic rules, etc.  Some of it is highly controversial, for example, Amaryllidaceae the whole family is now included in Alliaceae, a family that didn't even exist 20 or so years ago, making Allium the type genus.
DNA research isn't final or conclusive as cyclamen research has shown different relationships by different researchers, all using DNA methods but working in different ways.  So we are probably due for more changes in the future as different ideas emerge. 

The Kew database is here, in case you hadn't seen it.
http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do

[Janis Ruksans]

I read this today in an atricle about splitting up the genus Scilla to make more sense of it.

Finally, what is left of Scilla includes species such as S. bifolia as well
as the now defunct genus Chionodoxa (which itself forms 2 unrelated groups).

It does make sense of the whole fertile intergeneric hybrid thing with Scilla and Chionodoxa. I'm not normally a splitter by the way.
See http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/pbs/2003-December/016258.html

I'm too old to learn so many new names. I prefair to stay at old, easy and very common Scilla. When I was young I tried to follow all those new names, but not more. Of course - I agree with those genetical researches but how we practical gardeners can use them for identification of our plants without expensive laboratory and deep knowlege in molecular genetics?
Janis

[Sinchets]

2 Scilla in the frame- both sadly with missing labels. The first I posted last week when it started to flower but it is out more now.

[Maggi Young]

I have moved various posts creating a semantic discussion to a new thread..... let's keep this one for the plants 

[Tony Willis]

two pictures of Scilla bythinica which is my favorite one.

[Oron Peri]

Fantastic species Tony.

Amazing to see the perfect synchronization of the three cycles of blooming.
Thanks for showing it.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Tony,
S. bythinica is a real stunner !! 
I can tell why it's your favourite !
Thanks for showing !

[Otto Fauser]

Yes ,Tony, Scilla bithynica is stunning -but in my garden it seeds around far too prolificly,and is becoming a weed

[Tony Willis]

only a gentle weed with me but then I do not live in a temperate rain forest.

Otto you may be interested to know I collected the seeds in 1989 in woodland at sea level near the Black Sea coast. Almost temperate in that they grow tea on the higher slopes just along the coast.

[Paul T]

So many things in here that I would love to grow, even if so many of them have lost labels.  

Otto, it is really tough some of the things we have to deal with as weeds in some of our gardens, isn't it.  I could think of far worse things to have growing weedily in my garden.  Actually, you've reminded me that I don't think I saw S. bythinica last year in my garden..... must try to find that particular pot and work out whether it just missed flowering for me.  It definitely isn't something that is seeding weedily for me, that is for sure.  Some of the little scilla I seem to have trouble keeping alive here.  

[Hans J]

here is a pic of a Scilla which I have received from a friend ( he was on travel on Cyprus ) -he found it on Akamas peninsula .....
I suppose it is

Scilla morrisii

Can anybody confirm the ID ?

I grow this plants since 1998 in my borders -it has survived all wether ( that's really surprising because this plants was found near sealevel)

Some years later I have visit Cyprus in spring too - but I could not find again such plants - only the blue form ...

[Oron Peri]

Hans

Great to see this plant, it is S. morrisii.

Unfortunately it seems that very soon it will not be growing in the wild any more.!!!

Only a few hundred plants are still growing in the wild in what seems to be the last three locations,

It seems nothing is being done by Cypriot autoreties in order to protect, or make a programme to save this extremely rare plant, as for other species such as Crocus hartmaninaus and Tulipa cypria, both on a rapid way to extinction.

Last year i was there at the end of February but it was too early for it and I'm not sure it flowered due to the terrible drought Cyprus has for the last 5 years.

Any way Scilla morrisii grows at around 600m and 800-1000m.

Take a good care of it!!!!

[Hans J]

Oron ,

Thank you for this information and for conforming  the ID .
I will try to get seeds - I have never watch for them .

My friend has found this plants also in February ....I have found they in March .
I'm sorry to hear that this plants are so rare and the autorities makes not any protections .

I found it on a open ground ....between tracks of cars ....I think this plants are not destroyed from people - but from bif 4 x4 cars ( it was a area with grass - plain - with red soil )