Dear Mesembophiles
Delosperma cv. ‘Red Mountain’, in my lumping bad eyes rather
D. dyeri var. laxum (but you all should decide this individually) is under continental culture still a bit shy in flowering. But a cutting from last year (late autumn) finally flowered curiously last week outside in front of one of my Landlord’s southern windows, while the rather fairly good developed mothership-plant wants to show until today not even a single lonesome flower. Think tiny light reasonable flower induction in this splendid taxon is running during the time the cuttings were taken. Looking under somewhat shady conditions for the best, i.e. sunniest place in the garden is therefore probably well done in autumn (for replanting the following year) and a 6-8 mm thin layer of 2-4(-6) mm quarzitc white grit around plants, getting translucent if wet and reflecting sunlight if dry can support a healthy light condition and as well prevent fallen out seeds from being washed away by water. Under my
Climatic
Culturing
Conditions
D. cv. Beaufort West, in my lumping eyes a
D. luckhoffii cultivar, becomes planted in the garden an extinct specimen frequently after some years, but all those from Lesotho are growing rather well.
The continental flower of
D. dyeri var. laxum has got a life expectancy of c. 7 days, thus here comes a complete cyclus. All photos taken last 1-2 weeks, except otherwise given. For full resolution 2 click-steps on the corresponding photo are necessary.
The bud
First rubescence
Related dimensions to
Delosperma (cv.)
hirtum ex Joël Lodé and
Trichodiadema strumosum. Looks like the latter has got real tasty petals and is far better known under
T. fergusoniae.
First visit of female
Halictus or
Lasioglossum sp. (
Halictidae) digging predominant for pollen and perhaps having a short drink afterwards, probably
H. quadricinctus or
L. fulvicorne, difficult to say without catching this hard-working Lady
(what real Gentlemen never would do, rather having a drink too...
).
The juvenile Gourmand of
T. strumosum petals trying to run, but could not hide...(
Ensifera sp.)
Reaching finally Drinking-age
Life, the Universe and Everything
The Mothership
Holotyus drawing of
Delosperma dyeri L.Bolus
var. laxum L.Bolus from Miss
Beatrice Orchard Carter [1889-1939], topical attached on a herbarsheet of the Bolus Herbarium under BOL131688.
http://ts-den.aluka.org/fsi/img/size3/alukaplant/bol/phase_01/bol0008/bol131688.jpgFirst description of
D. dyeri L.Bolus
var. laxum L.Bolus in
Notes on Mesembrianthemum and allied genera 1928: 25.
Quote:
—
Glabrum, humile, ut videtur cum floribus ad 5.5 cm. altum, laxe ramosum;
rami floriferi elongati, decumbentes, sat dense foliati;
folia adscendentia semiteretia acuta, supra canaliculata saturate viridia, papillata modo
D. Cooperi sed
papillis minutis, ad 2.5 cm. longa, ad 6 mm. lata;
flores diurni, ad 4 cm. diam.;
receptaculum breviter turbinatum; sepala 5 inaequilonga, 6—9 mm. longa;
petala 2-seriata, interioribus paucis, subspathulata, ad 2.5 mm lata, ad 1.8 cm longa, obtusa, minute 1—3-denticulata, infra purpureo-coccinea, supra rubro-cuprea, infra medium lutea, basin versus alba itaque oculum formantia;
staminodia recurvata, 6 mm longa;
filamenta inferne papillata, ad 5 mm longa,
antheris luteis;
glandulae conspicuae distantes atrovirides;
ovarium supra, medium versus, 5-lobatum, lobis distantibus obtusis;
stigmata 5, subulata setaceo-acuminata, 3 mm. longa.
Cape Province: prope Tarkastadt, Mrs. Pringle Scott (N.B.G. 1456/28). Fl. Kirstenbosch, Nov. 1928. Fortasse in genere speciosissimum.
Topical, in my very own virtual and strictly mesembophile universe, I understand
D. dyeri as a natural X-way hybrid (at least 4-way) and being a member (?borderliner?) of
Delosperma § Eximia (but you all should decide this individually). If looking at what is shown by Mrs. Burgoyne under
D. dyeri var. laxum from Tarkastad I can see unfortunately only a member of the mat-forming cluster of, what I call, the
crassuloid tribes in this beautiful genus. The androecium in relation to the size of the shown flower does not allow me to see here something else than a rather tiny light sized, but very splendid flower, that probably will not even be able to reach a size bigger than 2 cm diameter, under excellent conditions perhaps somewhat more.
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/plimagescd/delospermdyerlax.jpg
But I can see also in this pretty nice thread, that this splendid natural hybrid is in my own universe rather sure one of the parents of the here shown marvelous colored
D. dyeri that kindly was shown some pages before (pls. see next mistreated quote). One strain of the natural
D. dyeri hybrid comes in my virtual universe therefore from this real splendid crassuloid hybrid from Tarkastad.
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3795.0;attach=227411;image
The suggested other romantical partner for Panayotis marvellous
D. dyeri hybrid (above) could be seen in
D. dyeri var.
laxum or the next quote below, but i have to state never having had the pleasure to cultivate a
D. dyeri specimen from this splendid strain in my own tiny collection.
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/plimagescd/delospermdyer.jpg
Ma chère Zéphyrine (sorry Folks, i am also hopeless francophile), i hope this tiny light information will help you a bit to understand a part of the boundaries of this splendid Taxon.
I really like hybrids very much, but not forcing them to create, this is by far much better done from my numerous flying splendid alpiniced Ladies, most of them members of the Halictidae or Apinae (Bumblebees).
This way also the following cultivar,
Delosperma cv. 'Badenia Red' was once spontaneously growing up in the collection of Mr. Klaus Dinger (FgaS) in the pot of a certain Mothership plant.
Anastasis, after kindly having survived dry and protected last winter temperatures down to c. -10°C
Habitus, think late summer 2010
Probably involved this Delosperma sp. (2008) from the crassuloid tribes, even dry not more than -3°C
Spontaneoulsy grown up last year in my collection, in my virtual universe a hybrid between
D. rogersii (long hairy) and
D. parviflorum (glabrous glaucesent), flower diameter between both, dry short peaks down to -3°/-5°C were already survived, perhaps somewhat higher potential
D. parviflorum, kindly once received from a friend under
D. rogersii, tiny light flower, dry short peaks down to -5°/-7°C were already survived, perhaps somewhat higher potential
D. rogersii, soft long hairy "Beachboy", thus better no real frost, dry short peaks down to -3°/-5° were already survived, perhaps somewhat higher potential
The Hedgehog -
D. echinatum and an swirring illustred Knight? of
Eupeodes corollae on a short fuel-stop, dry short peaks down to -5°/-7°C, critical if wet.
D. robustum (2008) and probably the adult progenitor of the juvenile Gourmand above, dry down to -7°C, perhaps higher potential
D. leendertziae with alpiniced Halictidae Lady, splendid nice plant, but unfortunately not all hardy under my CCCs.
Ian, you should try a cross pollination of your both D. dyyeri ex Mesa Garden and pls. show us one day your results. Btw. from my c. 10 germinating specimen were in the end 8 not able to to survive dry and protected on the balcony down to -10°C, only 2 have survived until today und only a single one has shown ever a lonesome flower. In autumn the sun is standing so low, that the plants in front of my window can not get enough direct sunlight, due to garden trees. But i can give you a tiny light resonable presight, what perhaps once could get out of your romantical experiments.
Alpiniced Halictidae Lady diving real deep for an extensive drink. Skål
Final view on a splendid diving romance, under my CCCs pretty nice hardy
Royal flying alpiniced Ladies – the BumblebeesD. abyssinicum and
Bombus pascuorum, syn.
Megabombus pascuorum, dry down to -7°C
D. aff. aberdeense Silverhill 2007 is totally different from what they distributed the years before. Visited by
Bombus lapidarius, syn.
Pyrobombus lapidarius, excellent hardy under this CCCs
D. aff. aberdeense Silverhill 2007 planted somewhat shady in the garden of my Landlord (2009),
Delosperma ID still at work, i.e. think i found it but need more working on evidence, it is one of the most difficult species for identifying within genus, an old Haworth taxon and no herbar material seems to exists, dry down to -7°C
Any splendid idea, Josef?
Same plant with
Episyrphus balteatus
This photo (2009) is showing also a
female Varroa destructor pestering this Pyrobombastic alpiniced Lady (lateral neck) and as well probably Lady's adapted strategy against this little ugly monster - peeling herself with fine quarzitic sand.
The King and Gentleman of my Heart – Xylocopa violaceaThe King of my heart was once (2009) visiting me daily for some weeks, hence I could not forget the real altruistic Gentlemen-like behavior of this real huge male
Royal Hymenoptera, spending hundreds of tiny light
male Varroa destructor a very relaxed hitch-hiking trip into a new future world. Until this time it was completely unknown for me, that the tiny light
male Varroa destructor is a real flying alpines too. Tiny
male Varroa destructor are rather Gentlemen, since they only like to travel alpinized, without any damage to the
King of Gentlemen. All photos 2009
The King's visit at a hybrid between
D. aberdeenense and
D. crassuloides, down to -10°C
The King's visit at
Trichodiadema imitans, down to -7°C
The King's visit at
D. incomptum (crassuloid tribes), down to at least -12°C
Xylocopa violacea Manuskript PDF (2009), sorry in German, but contains also
The King's visit at
D. brunnthaleri ex Eret ex Matk,
D. congestum,
D. sawdahense and as well many Links and historical drawings.
http://disk.alice.de/FZfRsCZ/Alpiniced/?a=6LaOsjmuLPkAn unwanted FgaS-Gallery erratum is unfortunately still found here, we apologize for this inconvenience (Josef is quite right in seeing here two different species):
http://www.fgas-sukkulenten.de/index.php?view=detail&id=824&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=85&lang=de It is
Delosperma lavisiae, found and photographed somewhere on Sani Pass, Lesotho side, in December 2008 by Anja & Harald Jainta.
Best wishes
Chris Schröder & Avonia Team of the FgaS (Fachgesellschaft andere Sukkulenten eV)
