Proiphys

[jshields]

My Proiphys amboinensis is starting to bloom.  The peduncle is a bit short yet, but I have hopes that it will grow.  I suspect that all three of the plants of this I have came from the same T.C. vat, since they won't set seed even when cross-pollinated on each other.  Here is a picture of the bloom in the process of opening.  The flower should eventually stand above the leaves.  The plant is in a 2-gallon pot (22 cm X 22 cm). 

The Proiphys cunninghamii bloomed about a month ago, and is now in mainly false pregnancy, although a couple berries might be big enough to produce a "seed" or two.

Jim

[santo2010]

Jim what size must be the bulb to start flowering? I think mine might be soon starting(not at this season of the year).
I have read somewhere that it is self fertile, that might be wrong.
If you want I can save some pollen when it flower, to swap it.

[jshields]

Since one of mine is starting to bloom right now, I will start saving (drying and freezing) this pollen while I still have it.  That way someone will have some pollen on hand.  When someone gets a scape starting to grow, let me know and I can send some pollen.

But first I'm going to photograph the fully open flower.

Jim

[jshields]

The flowers on the Proiphys amboinensis seem to be fully open now.

Jim

[jshields]

It looks as if my Proiphys amboinensis has had only pseudo-pregnancy.  However, my P. cunninghamii seems to have set two real seed pods (or probably more accurately, berries).  Two seeds were harvested so far, and sent on to a good home, but I have one berry left.  I should find a good home for the seeds (if any are viable) in the remaining berry.

I'd of course prefer a trade, but these seeds are too hard to come by to just let go to waste.  They are recalcitrant ("not capable of going dormant") so it will have to be handled promptly as soon as the berry is fully ripe.  Contact me by PM if you don't have my email address.

Jim

[fleurbleue]

Amazing plant I didn't know Jim  Thank you !

[angie]

Amazing plant I didn't know Jim  Thank you !

Same here, never heard of it before  Jim you have some fantastic plants.

Angie

[Hans J]

Hi Nicole and Angie ,

please look in older posts ...there is something written here ( incl. some nice pics )

Have fun
Hans

[Brian Ellis]

The wonderful thing about this forum is that we learn more and more that we know less and less.  Thanks for enlightening us on this amazing plant Jim.

[angie]

The wonderful thing about this forum is that we learn more and more that we know less and less.  Thanks for enlightening us on this amazing plant Jim.

Brian you are dead right 

Hans looked at the older posts, very interesting. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
should have known you would have this unusual plant 
Angie

[Hans J]

 

[jshields]

A while back, I promised a couple people seeds of my Proiphys cunninghamii, as I had a large, healthy fruit on one.  Eventually the fruit appeared to ripen, but on opening it I found no seeds at all.  So I must disappoint, unfortunately.

Regretfully,
Jim

[Paul T]

Jim,

Proiphys has an unual fruit.... the whole fruit is the seed, it doesn't "contain" seed.  If that fruit is left it itself it will put out a radical, even though if you cut one open it appears to be a green ball with nothing in it.  It is like Calostemma in this regard.... if you cut open the fruit you are destroying it, but left intact it works.  You just leave the fruit sitting on the surface and it will start sprouting, and in Calostemma you can get them germinating at times while still attached to the peduncle.  I think that in Calostemma almost every flower sets seed, but some abort a little later.  I've wondered whether apomixy is involved, given how freely Calostemma set seed.  My Proiphys have unfortunately never flowered for me, so I can help with other clones or anything like that.

[Maggi Young]

Jim,

Proiphys has an unusual fruit.... the whole fruit is the seed, it doesn't "contain" seed.  If that fruit is left it itself it will put out a radical, even though if you cut one open it appears to be a green ball with nothing in it.  It is like Calostemma in this regard.... if you cut open the fruit you are destroying it, but left intact it works.  You just leave the fruit sitting on the surface and it will start sprouting, and in Calostemma you can get them germinating at times while still attached to the peduncle.  I think that in Calostemma almost every flower sets seed, but some abort a little later.  I've wondered whether apomixy is involved, given how freely Calostemma set seed.  My Proiphys have unfortunately never flowered for me, so I can help with other clones or anything like that.

 Fascinating to read this.... something ELSE I didn't know 

[Paul T]

Maggi,

That is my interpretation of the fruit anyway.  The first time I received Proiphys seed I tried opening them up/peeling a few of them, and couldn't find anything particularly different between inside and out.  With one I did end up finding a fruit that had a a separate "seed" within it (it was green material, pretty much the same as the outside), and it had already started germinating inside the fruit.  I am guessing that this normally happens and the radical pushes straight through the surface, whereas this one had the radical coiled up inside the skin of the fruit.  Who knows if it would have survived without help, unless the skin had rotted to release the radical?  I've never tried dissection of Calostemma, as they so obviously start germinating shortly after they fall of the plant.  You see them on the ground with radicals already emerging.

Anyway, the interpretation of the fruit/seed relationship is my own from observation, so it probably isn't correctly described.  I hope I got the idea across clearly anyway?