Help identifying a bulb eaten by the geese
El Escribano
Posts: 2
Will someone please help me identify a bulb I once had that was eaten by my wretched geese! I would give anything to know what it was so I could try to find another, and I know my plants!
Here are the clues from memory:
A flowering bulb very to Acidanthera callianthus (but the bulbs might not be). Even the flowers are similar (pale white with beautiful thin deep purple nectar guides and a wonderful scent and I think it had five petals but I would not swear to that). However, hear the similarity ends. It flowered in mid-February here in southern Spain, requiring no watering whatsoever. Its leaves were very dark green, long, slim and virtually needle like. If my memory serves me correctly, it was a triangular-sectioned leaf/stem and my bunch of them was approximately 12 to 18 inches high when flowering. From the leaves/stems sprang one, two or even three separate flowers (very like Acidanthera!). Again, from memory, I think the flowers had a more delicate structure than Acidanthera and might have had a sort of hood on the back. What makes this so annoying is that I bought the bulbs in a packet here in southern Spain, but I have never ever seen them again and cannot remember what they were called. I’d appreciate it if anyone could help me identify this beautiful bulb.
Last edited: 14 February 2017 00:43:19
Posts
Sorry, El Escribano, I can't think of anything immediately.
Just thought I'd give your thread a bump up the page.
My only other thought would be to use an identification key to the family Iridaceae (presuming by the description that it does indeed belong to the Iridaceae), however you might not have enough information to successfully locate the species on a key.
Habranthus (rain lily) looks a bit like your description... six petals though.
Acidanthera are gladiolus, I think? And there are a huge variety of those - 'The Bride' is white, but any of the 'nanus' could fit that description. Not sure if they are scented. They definitely like dry though
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Hi again El Escribano,
After seeing your post yesterday, it bugged me all of last night as to what your mystery bulb might be.
After perusing my A-Z of Garden Plants, I wondered whether it could possibly be Gladiolus tristis.
Generally, G. tristis is known for having white/yellow/green flowers, but apparently there is a great deal of variation in the species and purple/pink spotted or striped individuals exist also.
Like this, G. tristis x carophyllaceus
Flowering time is March - April, but the Spanish climate is probably responsible for earlier flowering.
Hope this helps - in the meantime I'll carry on thinking!
pbff
Last edited: 24 February 2017 11:28:39