Scilla 2010

[Gunilla]

Lovely blue colour, Oleg .  Scilla litardierei is also the last scilla to flower in my garden.

[udo]

The first Scilla for this autumn,
Scilla scilloides from China

[pehe]

Dirk,

Very nice clump of Scilla!

Here are some of my autumn Scillas.

1. Scilla autumnalis and Colchicum montanum
2. Scilla numidica
3. Scilla intermedia
4. Scilla pulchella (in front of Sternbergia colchiciflora)

Poul

[Oron Peri]

Here are some of my autumn Scillas.

1. Scilla autumnalis and Colchicum montanum
2. Scilla numidica
3. Scilla intermedia
4. Scilla pulchella (in front of Sternbergia colchiciflora)

Poul

Very nice  Poul, seems like mid Autumn in your garden.

Regarding S. intermedia and S. pulchella, in my opinion they both should be treated as forms of Prospero autumnale [Syn Scilla autumnalis].

Prospero autumnale has a huge distribution that includes all the Mediterranean, N. Africa, Europe and parts of Asia, as such it has many forms and variants.
Only here in Israel i have individuated four stable forms that look different from each other and off course populations on Cyprus and the Greek islands can vary in size, intensity of color, number of inflorescence etc.

One or two forms have been elevated to species level such as Prospero talasii.

Chromosome numbers indicate that what we call the Prospero autumnale complex may well contain a few species and ssp. but the question is should they be divided into separate species if a human eye will not be able to notice the differences?

Any way most of the forms hybridize just by looking at each other and so if you grow a good form i suggest to isolate it in order to have pure forms.

[pehe]

Very nice  Poul, seems like mid Autumn in your garden.

Regarding S. intermedia and S. pulchella, in my opinion they both should be treated as forms of Prospero autumnale [Syn Scilla autumnalis].

Prospero autumnale has a huge distribution that includes all the Mediterranean, N. Africa, Europe and parts of Asia, as such it has many forms and variants.
Only here in Israel i have individuated four stable forms that look different from each other and off course populations on Cyprus and the Greek islands can vary in size, intensity of color, number of inflorescence etc.

One or two forms have been elevated to species level such as Prospero talasii.

Chromosome numbers indicate that what we call the Prospero autumnale complex may well contain a few species and ssp. but the question is should they be divided into separate species if a human eye will not be able to notice the differences?

Any way most of the forms hybridize just by looking at each other and so if you grow a good form i suggest to isolate it in order to have pure forms.

Oron, you may be right that pulchella and intermedia should be treated as forms of autumnalis.
I have two forms of what I have been told is Prospero autumnalis:

1 Bought from Paul Christian
2 From Malta

As you see they are very different both in appearance and in size. The Maltese one is 2-3 cm high while the other is about 20 cm. If these really are autumnalis both then I have no problems in calling pulchella and intermedia autumnalis forms too.

But on the other hand, they are more different from each other than many Galanthus species are. Maybee we should limit the Galanthus species to 2 or 3 ....

Poul

[Oron Peri]

Oron, you may be right that pulchella and intermedia should be treated as forms of autumnalis.
I have two forms of what I have been told is Prospero autumnalis:

1 Bought from Paul Christian
2 From Malta

As you see they are very different both in appearance and in size. The Maltese one is 2-3 cm high while the other is about 20 cm. If these really are autumnalis both then I have no problems in calling pulchella and intermedia autumnalis forms too.

But on the other hand, they are more different from each other than many Galanthus species are. Maybee we should limit the Galanthus species to 2 or 3 ....

Poul

Poul

I agree that your two forms of autumnale look very different,
Regarding the form you have from Malta, is it originated to one plant found there or is there a whole population that has these characteristics, that makes a big difference.
If there is a population of this form than it could be studied further to decide wether  it should be separated, as it is easy to tell apart from other forms.

But, as i said earlier, in a large population here you can find doesens and dosens of different forms all mixed together.
I grow at least twenty different forms, white, pink, violet, short tall, just name it.
I suppose if i was a commercial grower i could have offered them under twenty different names.

Regarding the Galanthus... as there are too many galantophyls around...

[Armin]

there is an interesting link: http://www.maltawildplants.com/HYCN/Prospero_autumnale.php#PIC

click on photogallery or scroll down.

[Oron Peri]

Thanks Armin,
Infact the photos seems similar to the form that Poul grow but there are different forms shown as well.
By the way Stephen Mifsud is an excellent botanist and observer and  made a very good work on Romulea in Malta.

[gote]

My Scilla scilloides (origin Vladivostok) is the only autumn floering that survives my winters so I am very fond of it
I note that the scapes are more slender than in the previous posting.
Cheers
Göte

[pehe]

Flowering today:

1. Scilla lingulata ciliolate (a week ago)
2. The same today
3. Prospero autumnale, Maltese form (formerly Scilla autumnalis) The flower is about 6 mm

Poul

[Oron Peri]

Flowering today, Prospero hanburyi.
This is the desert form, and closely related to P. autumnale.
It differs by the much longer pedicals, larger bulb, a fine rosette with more leaves that coil on the ground, finally it blooms earlier dependless on the rain.