Giessorhiza corrugata, a seedling of the wild bulb flower that grows on the shale slopes in Calvinia, South Africa. Planted as seed in 2008, this is the first flower to emerge from the pot, and the leaves, which are typically twisted into springs, is still rather lax. I expect that next year this pot will be more characteristic of the species. Still, it was a nice surprise to see a flower of a species that I had never seen before open in the greenhouse this weekend.
Corydalis macrocentra, another species which is new to me, and this is the first time I am seeing these flowers too. They open golden yellow, and then age to this rusty tint, very lovely, this Corydalis grows from a tuber and is somewhat hard to find. It will become better with age, but this one needs a hot, dry summer rest in the greenhouse. It hails from Tadjikistan ( where all lovely bulbs come from, right?). I am hoping that more flowers will come before this beauty goes dormant for the summer.
Romulea minutiflora
OK, I guess I can assume that this tiniest of Romulea is rare in cultivation because whenever I Google it in Google Images, only my photos come up. I don’t know why I like this plant, since the flower are almost so tiny that I can’t even see them. It’s just interesting to include it in a collection of Romulea that I keep, even though I am a resistant Romulea collector.
Pink rosemary doesn’t really look pink, until you place it next to a violet form, then I ‘get it’. It still looks purple to me when I see it all alone ( for some reason, it does look pinkier here in this image).
Mammillaria laui v. dasyacantha
The cacti are just starting to react to the longer day length, and if you look closely at this Mammillaria laui v. dasyacantha, you will see many tiny pink buds beginning to form under the fuzzy, white spines that make this Cacti species so collectable. If Barbie has a cactus, it would be this one, because the flowers are so tiny, at about a half an inch in diameter. This will be a mound of pink in a couple of weeks.
Lachenalia aloides ‘Pearsonii’, a Cape Hyacinth with golden flowers and burgundy colored highlights.
And lastly, two seed raised rarer Lachenalia species from South Africa, above, L. angelica ( I think, but this is seed grown from wild seed so let’s wait until it blooms before I identify it correctly, since already, the leave is not quite matching with the key description for this species). This is clearly a single leaf species ( lachenalia generally have one or two leaves). The floral spike is beginning to elongate, so that will help with keying it out.
Below, another seed raised Lachenalia, but now another mystery, since I cannot find this species listed anywhere. The label identifies it as L. komburgensis ( which I believe is incorrect for various reasons) this name is either a pseudonym, or it is miss-labeled which is common with these rarer species. Most likely, it was collected under this name, but is now listed as another species. More updates on these later as they open. Thank you Silverhill seeds!
Lachenalia komburgensis (?) Maybe it is supposed to be kamiesbergensis? (which would make more sense since there are many genus from South Africa listed as kamiesbergensis).
Melaspharulea ramosa
A sneak peak of another South African bulb which I have never seen before, and one which will be in bloom in a few weeks, a Melaspaerulea ramosa. This Iris relative is reported to make a fine alpine house specimen forming large colonies in pots, complete with clouds of of tiny flowers on wiry stems. I can’t wait! It is said to be weedy in some warmer areas like Southern California, but for many collectors, it is a very choice alpine house plant. It is native to Namibia.
Wow, those are some unique and rare specimens=) Thanks for sharing.
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That Romulea minutiflora specimen has to be the smallest flower I ever saw.