Nomocharis 2009

[gote]

Some further photos:
I have taken a new one of the Aperta-hybrid-meleagrina and tweaked the picture to show the "private parts". It is clearly a group2 and very similar to meleagrina.
The second one shows my "finlayorum" which also looks like meleagrina or at least very close.
The third and fourt show an aperta from seed I received from Alistir Blee who unfortunately has passed away. He wrote it came from EX ACE2271. No nomocharis seed has ever germinated as that gift. I have a dozen of them.
The tweaked picture clearly shows the difference.
Cheers
Göte
  

[Paul T]

Beautiful, everyone.

[arisaema]

Very good pictures, Göte, I guess ACE2271 is what used to be called N. forrestii. How tall is it?

Browsing the-genus-lilium.com I found a couple of interesting pictures, Lilium henrici certainly looks like it belongs in "group 2". There's also an interesting colour form of what has to be N. aperta..?

Below:

Nomocharis saluenensis from NW Yunnan
N. "group 2", also NW Yunnan
...and a "group 2" of unknown origin.

[WimB]

Göte and Bjørnar,

nice pictures. The N. saluenensis is really nice.

[Paul T]

Great shots, Arisaema.

[arisaema]

Thanks, both

[gote]

Very good pictures, Göte, I guess ACE2271 is what used to be called N. forrestii. How tall is it?

Thank you, It is not tall, about 30 cm. but this may be due to the circumstances in my garden. I enclose a very cluttered picture of six of them.

I have taken a better look in the books now (late as usual)  
Nomocharis pardanthina is the Ur-nomocharis described by Franchet 1889. He realised it was close to Lilium but he thought that the strange stamina were reason enough for a new genus. 1918 when the genus Nomocharis was at its largest size Balfour divided it in three sections.
#1: Eunomocharis with verticillate leaves, the funny filaments to the stamina, flattish flowers and rooots on the stem. these are the Core-Nomocharis: pardanthina, melegrina, farrerii, basilissa and mairei.
#2: Ecristata with scattered leaves normal filaments flattish flowers and thick bases at the inner tepals. Here belong aperta, forrestii and saluensis. Balfour also included Liliums souliei and georgei
#3: Lopophora  containing Liliums oxypetalum, lopophorum, euxanthum, and heinrichii

Looking at my Nomocharis closely I find that some of them seem to have four bracts. Cardiocrinums have big petal-like bracts that fall off. Notholirion have single bracts of ‘normal type’. Lilium have double bracts. I realized this when I had to determine an unknown lily (lijiangensis) Actually ALL liliums I have seen myself have two bracts to the pedicels. If you count the leaves in the whorl under an umbellate lily like dauricum you will find very nearly twice as many leaves as pedicels. In some cases one of the bracts moves up onto the pedicel. Lancifolium and amabile are good examples. In speciosum there is often a secondary pedicel from the primary and this pedicel grows from the bract on the primary pedicel.
Has anybody else counted quadruple bracts on Nomocharis ?
Cheers
Göte
  

[illingworth]

Here is Rob's picture of our one and only nomocharis, grown from Scottish Rock Garden Club seed in 2001. I keep trying for more seeds, but don't always get them - and even if I do, it is hard to get them past the seedling stage. We winter the first year seedlings in our cold cellar, and when I put this one in the garden I just planted the pot without disturbance. It has come through some pretty rough winters.
Nomocharis aperta forrestii.

Sharon

[Paul T]

Gorgeous markings, Sharon.

[gote]

I have to correct myself. One of my N aperta ex ACE2271 was actually 60 cm high.
I planted them out in the ground first autumn. They never had to face winter in pots.
Göte