Nomocharis 2009

[arisaema]

There isn't a thread for Nomocharis yet, is there?

Here's Nomocharis pardanthina (I think) and N. aperta, pics from today.

[Paul T]

Beautiful. <sigh>

[Magnar]

Yes they are wonderful plants. I never saw a yellow form, mine are all shades of pink, and will be flowering in 2 or 3 weeks.

[ichristie]

Hi, I agree never seen a yellow form very interesting indeed, do you just have one flower spike like this or have you flowered this before?,  cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[gote]

My pardanthina (killed by some funguslast year) was slightly different. I enclose a pic.
According to flora of China, Pardanthia is supposed to have leaves in whorls. See http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=122380
The first one in my place is a supposed aperta from SRGC seed..
Göte

[arisaema]

Ian; there's three of them, all from a Chinese import a few years back. Picture from last year below.

Göte; thanks, it does look very different... Inner tepals on mine are 25x38mm, anthers 6x2mm and leaves 11mm wide - which keys as N. pardanthina Your N. aperta is a hybrid perhaps, since the leaves are whorled?  

ETA: The leaves on my "pardanthina" are whorled, just not those right below the flower.

[Paul T]

Beautiful everyone.  Must grow some of these from seed and see if they do better for me than bulb purchases in the past.  Maybe with acclimation from the beginning they'll do better here?  I think I just need to grow them in more shade to protect from the heat a bit.  I think that applies to a lot of the Lilium family species that I lost a few years ago. 

Great to enjoy the pics though, as they are such beautiful flowers.  Thanks all!

[Mick McLoughlin]

This is the first flower of what I have as Nomocharis pardanthina from the seed exchange.

[Paul T]

Oh wow!  Such cool flowers.

[johnw]

A few from Nova Scotia today. They may all be hybrids and certainly none to compare with the exquisite ones posted lately.

johnw

[Robert G]

Great to see all the pictures! Mine are all a while before bloom.

John-especially nice to see some blooming close to home. I know your climate is somewhat more forgiving, but still it is nice to see them flowering.. there is hope.

[gote]

Göte; thanks, it does look very different... Inner tepals on mine are 25x38mm, anthers 6x2mm and leaves 11mm wide - which keys as N. pardanthina Your N. aperta is a hybrid perhaps, since the leaves are whorled?  

I agree: my aperta is probably a hybrid. I have some others which are of know pedigree and which conform better to the description. no picture yet, however, perhaps tomorrow. The other one is a direct import and thus more likely to be the real macCoy. However, I think that we will probably find that Nomocharis is another of those taxons where there is a continumum of wild forms. The one feature that was very evident and can be seen in my picture is the swollen filamets to the anthers.
Göte

[gote]

Flora of China and Haw's Lilies of China  distinguish between two types of  Nomocharis.

Group 1 (my naming) consists of aperta, and saluensis.
They have all leaves scattered and the filaments of the stamina are relatively thin and gradually tapering to a point where the anther is affixed.
•   Aperta has a style that is as long as or even shorter than the ovary,.
•   Saluensis  has a style that is at least 1.5 times as long as the ovary.

Group 2 consists of the rest. They have at least some of the leaves in whorls and the filaments are very curious. At the base they are thick and cylindrical. Halfway up they abruptly become thin. The difference is very marked. I think one can see that in my posting above and even better in Johns first picture (Which looks to me as pardantina v punctulata).
In group 2 we have 
•   Basilissa with unspotted flowers.
•   Pardanthina with inner tepals as wide as or wider than long
•   Meleagrina with inner tepals longer than wide.
Maireii is supposed to be pardanthina but the “real” pardanthina has erose lacerated margins as in the picture in my post whereas the smoother and less spotted one is called pardanthina v. punctulata.
Farrerii looks like a punctulata but with more narrow leaves.
 
We have a group 3 as well consisting of all garden hybrids. Most of what we grow probably belongs to this group. The most successful member has been given the name Nomocharis finlayorum after the Knox Finlays of Keillour who probably were the most successful growers of the genus.

I would also suggest a group 4 consisting of all those forms which are not yet described and given names such as the yellow ones shown above.
Without having grown all these forms I have no opinion but it seems to me that these species are very similar so that some lumping will probably take place sooner or later.

I hope this is helpful to someone at least. 
Göte

[arisaema]

I've added some pictures of the "private parts" below. You're probaby right about there being a high degree of variability and integration within the groups, and considering their limited distribution it's actually quite surprising not more lumping has happened... Haw also mentions that there are forms of N. aperta being very close to meleagrina, so even the division into two groups could prove pointless.

I would also suggest a group 4 consisting of all those forms which are not yet described and given names such as the yellow ones shown above

Yellow is mentioned for the species in Haw's book, and thus also in the original, Chinese version of Flora of China. For some reason this seems to have been lost in translation?

Does anyone have a picture of N. basilissa they could post?

Below close-ups of "typical saluenensis", "typical aperta" and "atypical pardanthina/meleagrina", all ex NW Yunnan.

[gote]

Arisaema,
Your three look just as described in the floras - very instructive.
You are right Haw has yellow. These parts of his books are from the Chinese Flora of the Peoples Republic and translated by him. The flora of China that is available on the net is an American effort. I should believe that both descriptions, which are very similar, are based on the original one by Franchet and that it has been amended in the Chinese version but this is only surmise from my side.
I have taken a closer look at the one I got as aperta and it keys out as meleagrina. Another misnamed seed (Sigh!)
Cheers
Göte