May 2009 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Lesley Cox]

Dear Otto, do these recent posts mean that you have mastered the art of picture posting? I told you it wasn't difficult, didn't I?

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Otto,
I've posted a reply in the Crocus inthe SH thread about my white "not speciosus' with a pic of the open flowers,

Do you think this is also C. pulchellus albus?

This is C. biflorus ssp. melantherus, Also posted on the crocus thread


Our Moraea polystachya has only just started to flower, though Paul's were out ages ago



A pot of Oxalis ciliaris which I received from a friend at FCHS/AGS VG has come into bloom,

with its lovely soft orange flowers

And the first of the hoops, Narcissus cantabricus foliosus has started,

but the breeze this morning meant the pics are a bit fuzzy (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

And finally for its Scottish connections, a Rowan in autumn dress!

cheers
fermi

[Paul T]

Fermi,

My Moraea polystachya is still flowering heavily, has been constantly since I posted pics of it weeks and weeks ago.  I can't believe how many flowers I have had on it, and no sign of stopping.

And thanks for the pics..... I like that Oxalis.  Love the orange ones.

[Otto Fauser]

Yes Fermi , your "not speciosus" is C. pulchellus albus .

[Otto Fauser]

Rogan , I can understand your frustration in your failure to successfully cultivate Crocus , one of my favourite genera . They grow very well for me in the open garden - with summer temperatures in the high thirties , and in the winter not below minus 2 degrees Celsius , I imagine not much different to yours .
  But you have in your country a bulb that is almost a Crocus , the closest Genus to Crocus , with the name of Afrocrocus [this is a real name - not a joke !]unifolius Manning &Goldblatt ,
 it was known previously as Syrengodea unifolia .-as nice as Crocus sieberi ssp. sublimis forma
tricolor .I would love to grow it ,but have never been able to get hold of seeds . Would you know of a source of seeds ? It should be in flower now -late winter -early winter , in western Karoo , on the Roggeveld Escarpment . Good luck in finding it .

[Otto Fauser]

Rogan , just found a photo of Afrocrocus unifolius -not a very clear one - sorry .

[Paul T]

Wow Otto.  Never heard of that one before (although here on the forums that isn't really that surprising..... there seems to be a lot of things posted recently that I've never heard of before!  )

 

[Maggi Young]

Afrocrocus unifolius is new to me,  too. It is certainly working very hard to be a crocus, that's for sure! Pretty thing.

[Lesley Cox]

I wonder, can Rogan be bribed with chocolate? or a bottle of wine?

[Ezeiza]

In Peter Goldblatt's recent book "The Iris Family" he presents a summary of all his monumental work over the years with several nomenclatural names. The line drawings and many color photos include a lot of uncommon species, including one of the long lost Freesia speciosa, the one with the largest (monster) sized in the genus.