Muscari ...... and relatives 2011

[ashley]

Various ones flowering here now:

Bellevalia forniculata
Muscari anatolicum (x2) Archibald population number 0687950 ex Turkey, Konya, Sultan Dag, 1760m, limestone ridge; sown 10/08
M. grandifolium Archibald pop. no. 0689450 ex Morocco, Middle Atlas, above Ifrane, 1700m
Muscari hybrid? distinctly purple rather than blue (came as M. leucostomum)
M. 'Jenny Robinson'
M. latifolium
M. leucostomum ex Turkmenistan, Kopet Dag; from Janis
Muscari sp. ex Turkey, Burdur (thanks Tony) tiny (7-8 cm) and a beautiful deep wine colour.  Can anyone suggest an ID?

[daveyp1970]

Wow soooo many nice ones there Ashley can i be greedy and say i like them all lovely stuff,if you don't get an id for the last one send a pic attached to an email to Richard Hobb and Sally Ward they might be able to id it for you.

[ashley]

Good idea Davey.  Thank you.

[David Nicholson]

Lovely collection Ashley.

[Janis Ruksans]

This is a Muscari latifolium I collected in 1996 and it is still one bulb. Lovely lime green colour goes well with the white top. Would look better as a pot full.

My latifolium album didn't increase, too and seedlings were usual blue colored. Original plant got virus and I destroyed it before started increasing with bulb cutting. I reccomend you to make cross-cut with sterilized knife the bottom plate after harvesting up to 1/3 of bulb height - allow to dry and then plant. It works!
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I posted this one on Scilla page, but as this concern Muscari, too, I repeat it here:

Usually we are reporting about nice flowers and success, but sometimes I think it would be good to share information about possible problems in garden. Last spring, when Henrik Zetterlund visited my nursery, he spotted out one pot with beautiful and well looking Muscari, with only some black dust (soot) on leaves. He touched the spike and I saw how very fine powder falls out of flowers. So I for the first time saw the fungal disease which Henrik named as Bellevalia & Muscari "flower-soot" which he first  saw  on B. pycnantha about 25 years ago. It doesn't destroy the plant, but makes it sterile as instead of pollens the anthers produce this soot. The black powder on leaves is the single symptom on Muscari. I immediately destroyed this pot and carefully checked all other Muscari - fortunately no one more showed symptoms.

This spring I was surprised seeing one pot of Scilla bithynica with smaller flowers and black anthers. When I touched this - fell off known before from muscari black powder and then I note deformation of petals, too. So carefull checking of all Scillas followed and I found one pot with S. sibirica caucasica with similar symptoms. They all immediately were mowed to fireplace. Unfortunately I maid picture only from bithynica, was so shocked, that didn't pictured caucasica flowers, but symptoms were similar - deformed petals (although of normal size), fat black anthers issuing very fine black powder.

I immediately sprayed all my plantings with combination of Tilt + Carbendazim - so future pictures can be with some whitish spots on leaves. Tilt is against rust. Henrik suppose that it is some phase of rust (rust fungus has 4 different stages and different spores), but I more think that it could be some of little known fungus from Fumago/Capnodium complex, but my knowledge about those pathogens are 40 years old (when I was student). May be someone of you know something about this disease?

Picture of infected Scilla bithynica you can see on Scilla pages; may be it came with infection from wild as I saw in wild large populations of Fritillaria, Erythronium, juno Iris with heavy infection of rust.

Janis

[daveyp1970]

Janis i will check all my plants but can't say i've seen it before.Can i ask about your previous reply to Tony about his alba flower,if i was to collect seed from a virused plant is there any hope the seedlings will be clean of the virus.

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis i will check all my plants but can't say i've seen it before.Can i ask about your previous reply to Tony about his alba flower,if i was to collect seed from a virused plant is there any hope the seedlings will be clean of the virus.

Usually they are free from virus, but checking is necessary. Some stocks I cleaned only in second generation.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Another entry for both Scilla and Muscari pages:

With great help from Suzan, I found (really Suzan found) article about this fungal disease. From that article I made small extract about the subject. As it is just article relating of systematic topic, I added my opinion how to work with it. Fortunately now we have new systemic fungicides used by farmers on grain crops, which may be will work on bulbs, too.
This patogen belongs to the genus Vankya quite recently seperated from Uromyces, which is quite common disease on various grain crops. I suppose that now Uromyces are regarded as patogen of Dycotylodens and fungus infecting monocots (most of bulbs etc.) now is renamed as Vankya. So I think that systemic fungicides used against Uromyces (by old system) can be useable for bulbs, too. Follows extract from original article (VANKYA VAILLANTII (USTILAGINOMYCETES) ON SCILLA IN CENTRAL EUROPE.) Once more - many thanks to Suzan!

Vankya vaillantii (Tul. & C. Tul.) Ershad (Urocystales,
Ustilaginomycetes) is a parasitic fungus
affecting members of the genera Albuca, Bellevalia,
Chionodoxa, Eucomis, Hyacinthus, Muscari,
Puschkinia, Scilla, Urginea and Ornithogalum
pyrenaicum L. worldwide (Vanky 1994). The
fungus systemically infects anthers of host plants.
The anthers are enlarged, olivaceous-brown, with
sori producing a dark olive brown powdery mass
of spores. Distributed in areas with generally
warm climate in the floodplain woods.

Janis

[Maggi Young]

See here http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=7016.msg194984#msg194984 for more on the article cited (above)  by Janis.

[Arda Takan]

I saw hundreds of muscaris in flower today. But photo quality is too bad so I will take better photos tomorrow and show you guys.

[daveyp1970]

I saw hundreds of muscaris in flower today. But photo quality is too bad so I will take better photos tomorrow and show you guys.

Yes please Arda.

[Arda Takan]

I will add more pictures but unfortunately they won't have a higher quality since I have to take them with my cell. Here are two muscaris. I have no idea about their species.

[Janis Ruksans]

Nice Muscari neglectum form from Crimea know as M. dolioliforme, too but generally the last name is regarded as synonim
Laigh blue is most likely new species from very high altitudes in NE Turkey
About last I even don't know from where it comes and don't know its name - I gave it nickname "sausage" muscari. May be someone can help me to identify?
Janis

[daveyp1970]

Nice Muscari neglectum form from Crimea know as M. dolioliforme, too but generally the last name is regarded as synonim
Laigh blue is most likely new species from very high altitudes in NE Turkey
About last I even don't know from where it comes and don't know its name - I gave it nickname "sausage" muscari. May be someone can help me to identify?
Janis

Janis i think i have cracked your mystery muscari sausage http://217.70.34.228/artiklar/images/bilder/Muscari_discolor-t.jpg
is there a prize.