lopsided bulb

[Diane Whitehead]

I'm going through all my bulb pots.  It is amazing how bulbs can be
the size of a pinhead even though they've been growing for six years.

These mystery ones are a good size, though still unflowered.  The label
says Erythronium multiscapoideum cliftonii but they don't look right.

They are oddly shaped.  One side is longer than the other, and the roots
come off where the shorter side ends.

[Paul T]

Diane,

Those fit with some of my experiences with Erythronium.  I find the bulbs extremely variable, from chunky and round to elongated thin things that look more like stolons.  Sometimes they have a jacket around them, other times they are white.  I don't recall specifically for multiscoideum cliftonii though, but I know I have had Eryths with similar configuration, including the roots part way up the bulb as you describe.  My cliftonii incidentally are coming up out in their pots at the moment..... originating from seed generously sent to me a few years ago by your very good self!    They, along with a few other brethren that you sent at the time, are doing quite well!  

The other possibility would be Colchicums, as they have the elongated "leg" that is where the new growth/flowers come from.  They also have the solid jacket brown jacket on them like yours have.  Does it have an indentation on the outside of the elongated side?  If so, this is where the new shoot emerges from the Colchicums.  The Erythroniums don't have it.  If it isn't visible, you should still be able to feel it under the jacket/skin.  The twisted remains of a neck on the bulb behind would fit the Colchicum as well.  The leaves of course will be a dead give-away as to which of the two it is (if it is one of them and not something else).

I hope that is of some help with identification.  If found as a loose bulb I would be thinking Colchicum from your pic, but with the Erythronium label it still could possibly fit.

[Lesley Cox]

They look like colchicums to me.

[Diane Whitehead]

I have removed them from my kitchen counter, just in case they
are colchicums, and I had better wash my hands.

And if they are colchicums, they should be doing something fairly
soon, so then I'll know.

Thanks!

[Rodger Whitlock]

I have removed them from my kitchen counter, just in case they
are colchicums, and I had better wash my hands.

Oh, Diane, how unsporting of you! Would not those nearest and dearest to you be entranced if you turned polyploid on them? Think of the benefits of increased stature and robustness!

As for your bulbs themselves, to me they also look like colchicums, but erythronium bulbs also have something of a foot too. But the brown tunic, and the narrow neck of withered leaves screams "colchicum."

And don't forget: not all colchicums are fall-blooming.

And I wouldn't be too worried about accidentally curing the family's gout via contamination. Generally speaking a bulb with a dry tunic as illustrated is not going to adulterate the counter with chromosomatically active substances.

[Lesley Cox]

Colchicum bulbs are probably a good long way from colchicine. Are they otherwise poisonous?

[gote]

They certainly look like Colchicums (including vernum which used to be Bulbocodium).
The human skin is fairly mpermeable and the concentration of poison is usually low in plants. The skin on my hands allows me to pull Urtica dioica without feeling anything.
Poison Ivy and Heracelum which act by a kind of allergy reaction should not be touched but it is harmless to handle aconitums and colchicums with the hands. To eat them is quite a different matter. A big leaf of some Aconitum my kill a grown up person if eaten.
Yes Lesley, Colcicums - at least some are poisonus and regarded as a serious weed by livestock farmers.
Göte

[Maggi Young]

I'd say a Colchicum too.
As to toxicity, I know of a dog, a dachshund,  who died after retrieving a bulb that was rolling down a slope.... he gave the bulb a couple of chomps as he brought it back and later was one very dead dog. Not the best  way to die.

[Lesley Cox]

I'd say a Colchicum too.
As to toxicity, I know of a dog, a dachshund,  who died after retrieving a bulb that was rolling down a slope.... he gave the bulb a couple of chomps as he brought it back and later was one very dead dog. Not the best  way to die.

Just as well I wrested a couple of loose bulbs from Teddy then but I admit it was to save the bulbs, not Teddy. I didn't realize they were poisonous and he chews anything. (It was Roger's phone charger this week. Well, if he will leave it where.....)

You must be a tough old bird Gote. Stinging nettles definitely DO sting me and I come out in little red bumps which are stinging and itchy. Wrapping the arm or finger in large dock leaves (of which I have a good supply) is very helpful though. What IS poison ivy please? The botanical name I mean? Read about it so often but I can't visualise it.

Funnily enough, I sometimes see a good patch of colchicums in a farm paddock, usually where there has been an old wooden house many years ago. Stock don't seem to bother these. I dug (with permission) 30 bulbs last year from such a place.

[Rodger Whitlock]

What IS poison ivy please? The botanical name I mean? Read about it so often but I can't visualise it.

Poison ivy is classified as Rhus radicans or Toxicondendron radicans. Poison oak is Rhus diversiloba or Toxicondendron diversilobum and poison sumac is Rhus vernix or Toxicondendron vernix.

I grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, and there poison ivy was a climber with beautiful, glossy tripartite leaves that color well in the fall.

The website I have quoted says that western poison oak was discovered by David Douglas (the great plant explorer of the Pacific NW) on Vancouver Island, but in fact it's very rare here; I know of only one site, and that only accessible by water. Further south, particularly in northern California, poison oak is ubiquitous; I've seen forest with undergrowth of poison oak covering the ground except where trails had been cut through it.

[David Shaw]

I go with Colchicum, also, Diane.
We repotted ours yesterday, just before dinner and I thought that one might be missing ..............

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Rodger, that gives me a good idea as I have several Rhus species round about here and I'd hate to lose them as their autumn colour is superb. But they do have a reputation as poisonous to touch, or at least that one should be cautios not to get sap on one's hands and arms.

David and Carol, are you both feeling well today?

[Rodger Whitlock]

Thanks Rodger, that gives me a good idea as I have several Rhus species round about here and I'd hate to lose them as their autumn colour is superb. But they do have a reputation as poisonous to touch, or at least that one should be cautious not to get sap on one's hands and arms.

The Toxicodendrons are far worse than any ordinary species of Rhus. The usual reaction is a severe rash soon followed by large watery blisters. Some people seem to be immune to poison ivy/oak/sumac, but others suffer much more severe reactions and may even require hospitalization. Everyone who lives where these are native knows them and knows to stay well away from them.

Some people are foolish enough to burn the stuff in a bonfire. This volatilizes the active principle so the smoke can (and does) cause a reaction. If hiking where any of these plants is native, you have to be cautious handling your clothing afterwards, and if you have a dog (hello, Teddy!) be wary lest Rover's coat be tainted by urushiol he's picked up by wandering through the stuff.

A group of very nasty plants, indeed.

[Lesley Cox]

Thank goodness we don't seem to have any like those among our own natives. Teddy and I are grateful, as he does tend to go rushing off into the undergrowth with no thought of any dangers which he may encounter. I'm a bit more circumspect myself but then I haven't the right body shape.

[gote]

You must be a tough old bird Gote. Stinging nettles definitely DO sting me and I come out in little red bumps which are stinging and itchy. Wrapping the arm or finger in large dock leaves (of which I have a good supply) is very helpful though. What IS poison ivy please? The botanical name I mean? Read about it so often but I can't visualise it.
Funnily enough, I sometimes see a good patch of colchicums in a farm paddock, usually where there has been an old wooden house many years ago. Stock don't seem to bother these. I dug (with permission) 30 bulbs last year from such a place.

The skin on the inside of my hands is tough enough. Not on the outside. One has to be careful.
You might of course have a more ferocious nettle than I have.
Livestock usually learn which plants are poisonus and avoid them. However, sometimes they are killed.
 Cheers
Göte