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| Trachyandra ciliata |
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| Freesia verrucosa |
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| Gladiolus debilis |
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| Ixia purpureorosea |
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| Ixia rivulicola |
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| Ixia trifolia |
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| Moraea aristata |
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| Moraea serpentina |
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| Spiloxene sp. aff. capensis |
Friday, 14 October 2011
Spring 2011
Saturday, 8 October 2011
New species: Wurmbea fluviatilis
Macfarlane, T.D. & Case, A.L. Wurmbea fluviatilis (Colchicaceae), a new riverine species from the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. Nuytsia 21(1): 25–30 (2011).
Flowers look rather similiar to the South African Wurmbea stricta, long known as Dipidax or Onixotis.
A new species of Wurmbea, W. fluviatilis T. Macfarlane & A. Case, is described and illustrated with photographs and a distribution map. The new species is known from only three populations from the Gascoyne River catchment in the region of Mount Augustus, growing on river banks and beside riverside pools. It is a relatively tall, attractive species with bi-coloured flowers.Free PDF download of the paper here.
Flowers look rather similiar to the South African Wurmbea stricta, long known as Dipidax or Onixotis.
Wurmbea rediscovered in Tasmania
News story here: Shock find of 'extinct' plant
This plant is more precisely (and currently) known as Wurmbea latifolia subsp. vanessae. It also has an earlier synonym of Anguillaria dioica var. multiflora.
I have seen this as well as subsp. latifolia in situ, and am amazed that they are even considered the same species. Both differ in capsule shape, leaf shape and positioning, gender dimorphy (male and female plants in subsp. latifolia are extremely dissimilar), and possibly in their habitat preference.
Subsp. latifolia is restricted to a small area in South Australia's Mid-North region, with much of its habitat lost to agriculture; whereas subsp. vanessae is widespread along mainly coastal areas of South Australia and Victoria, with one very old record from the far south coast of New South Wales, and of course the old and new records from the one spot in Tasmania. Inland populations of subsp. vanessae may deserve investigation into their status.
I am convinced that subsp. vanessae deserves recognition as a separate species. It is an open question as to what name it will receive at that rank: Wurmbea multiflora, W. vanessae, or something completely different and more appropriate? I believe the same to be true for the subspecies of W. biglandulosa and W. dioica.
I should also add that this pretty little bulb has a wonderful perfume - one collector described it as a "powerful apricot pie" fragrance, and I agree. So strong, in fact, that one doesn't need to get down on their hands and knees to catch a whiff of its lovely scent!
I have seen this as well as subsp. latifolia in situ, and am amazed that they are even considered the same species. Both differ in capsule shape, leaf shape and positioning, gender dimorphy (male and female plants in subsp. latifolia are extremely dissimilar), and possibly in their habitat preference.
Subsp. latifolia is restricted to a small area in South Australia's Mid-North region, with much of its habitat lost to agriculture; whereas subsp. vanessae is widespread along mainly coastal areas of South Australia and Victoria, with one very old record from the far south coast of New South Wales, and of course the old and new records from the one spot in Tasmania. Inland populations of subsp. vanessae may deserve investigation into their status.
I am convinced that subsp. vanessae deserves recognition as a separate species. It is an open question as to what name it will receive at that rank: Wurmbea multiflora, W. vanessae, or something completely different and more appropriate? I believe the same to be true for the subspecies of W. biglandulosa and W. dioica.
I should also add that this pretty little bulb has a wonderful perfume - one collector described it as a "powerful apricot pie" fragrance, and I agree. So strong, in fact, that one doesn't need to get down on their hands and knees to catch a whiff of its lovely scent!
Ferraria revised
P. Goldblatt and J.C. Manning. Systematics and biology of the African genus Ferraria (Iridaceae: Irideae). Bothalia 41,1: 1–40 (2011).
Following field and herbarium investigation of the subequatorial African and mainly western southern African Ferraria Burm. ex Mill. (Iridaceae: Iridoideae), a genus of cormous geophytes, we recognize 18 species, eight more than were included in the 1979 account of the genus by M.P. de Vos. One of these, F. ovata, based on Moraea ovata Thunb. (1800), was only discovered to be a species of Ferraria in 2001, and three more are the result of our different view of De Vos’s taxonomy. In tropical Africa, F. glutinosa is recircumscribed to include only mid- to late summer-flowering plants, usually with a single basal leaf and with purple to brown flowers often marked with yellow. A second summer-flowering species, F. candelabrum, includes taller plants with several basal leaves. Spring and early summer-flowering plants lacking foliage leaves and with yellow flowers from central Africa are referred to F. spithamea or F. welwitschii respectively.I believe I may already have Ferraria flava. It was received as F. divaricata, and described by the seed seller as having sweetly-scented yellow flowers The above monograph included (with hesitation) F. divaricata subsp. aurea as a synonym of F. flava. Still small seedlings, so only time will tell.
The remaining species are restricted to western southern Africa, an area of winter rainfall and summer drought. We recognize three new species: F. flava and F. ornata from the sandveld of coastal Namaqualand, and F. parva, which has among the smallest flowers in the genus and is restricted to the Western Cape coastal plain between Ganzekraal and Langrietvlei near Hopefield. Ferraria ornata blooms in May and June in response to the first rains of the season. Among the remaining species, F. uncinata subsp. macrochlamys is now F. macrochlamys and is treated as comprising three subspecies: subsp. macrochlamys from central and northern Namaqualand has leaves with thickened, crisped margins; subsp. kamiesbergensis from the southern Kamiesberg has leaves with unthickened margins and blades curved in one direction; and subsp. serpentina from gravels and sands of coastal Namaqualand has serpentine leaves, also with unthickened margins. Among the remaining species, F. divaricata subsp. arenosa is now treated as a synonym of F. divaricata. Because of our re-interpretation of the type of F. divaricata, plants which were called F. divaricata subsp. divaricata and subsp. australis are now treated as synonyms under the name F. variabilis.
Flowers of Ferraria are unique in Iridaceae in having tepal limbs with crisped margins and a style that divides into flattened branches, each deeply forked with finely fringed adaxial margins. Despite relative floral uniformity, the genus displays a surprising range of discrete pollination systems for so small a genus. Pollinators include Diptera in the families Muscidae, Calliphoridae, and Sarcophagidae (F. crispa group); anthophorine and honey bees (F. ferrariola); eumenid wasps (F. divaricata, F. macrochamys, F. variabilis); and Coleoptera in the families Meloidae and Melyridae (F. uncinata). Preliminary phylogenetic analysis using plastid DNA regions shows F. glutinosa to be sister to an unresolved cluster of southern African species and confirms as plesiomorphic the open branching habit, many-flowered inflorescences and exserted globose capsules that characterize F. glutinosa and its immediate allies in subgen. Glutinosa.
Introduction
Hello everyone.
Welcome to my blog. I plan to feature photos of my bulbs in bloom, plus taxonomic news and opinions.
I live in the Adelaide Hills, Australia. The climate here is a fairly typical Mediterranean, with cooler and wetter winters than Adelaide itself (which is by the coast).
My collection is dominated by South African species, but only because they are numerous, easily obtained, and generally effortless to grow in my climate. I have a slowly-increasing collection of Australian native geophytes. I also have a fairly comprehensive range of Chilean natives; a small but growing range of species from the western USA; not quite enough species from the Mediterrean regions itself; and a fairly good number of Middle Asian species, mostly species tulips and several juno Iris species (still, however, waiting for their seeds to germinate!). I also try to grow some of the summer-growing, winter-dormant species - but they have to be pretty special to be worth the extra effort!
My plants belong to the following families: Agapanthaceae; Alliaceae; Amaryllidaceae; Asphodelaceae; Blandfordiaceae; Colchicaceae; Haemodoraceae; Hyacinthaceae; Hypoxidaceae; Iridaceae; Ixioliriaceae; Liliaceae; Tecophilaeaceae; and Themidaceae. I'm also 'dabbling' in Alstroemeriaceae but they are not reliable from seed - and I am considering expanding into Hemerocallidaceae and Laxmanniaceae, as these families include many Australian natives with root tubers and showy enough flowers, combined with a similar habit to geophytes from the other families.
Welcome to my blog. I plan to feature photos of my bulbs in bloom, plus taxonomic news and opinions.
I live in the Adelaide Hills, Australia. The climate here is a fairly typical Mediterranean, with cooler and wetter winters than Adelaide itself (which is by the coast).
My collection is dominated by South African species, but only because they are numerous, easily obtained, and generally effortless to grow in my climate. I have a slowly-increasing collection of Australian native geophytes. I also have a fairly comprehensive range of Chilean natives; a small but growing range of species from the western USA; not quite enough species from the Mediterrean regions itself; and a fairly good number of Middle Asian species, mostly species tulips and several juno Iris species (still, however, waiting for their seeds to germinate!). I also try to grow some of the summer-growing, winter-dormant species - but they have to be pretty special to be worth the extra effort!
My plants belong to the following families: Agapanthaceae; Alliaceae; Amaryllidaceae; Asphodelaceae; Blandfordiaceae; Colchicaceae; Haemodoraceae; Hyacinthaceae; Hypoxidaceae; Iridaceae; Ixioliriaceae; Liliaceae; Tecophilaeaceae; and Themidaceae. I'm also 'dabbling' in Alstroemeriaceae but they are not reliable from seed - and I am considering expanding into Hemerocallidaceae and Laxmanniaceae, as these families include many Australian natives with root tubers and showy enough flowers, combined with a similar habit to geophytes from the other families.
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