My little bog

[Hoy]

My little bog with huge plants is awaking.
1) One of the more conspicuous ones is Lysichiton americanum. I have different clones. The best clone produce the yellow spathe much earlier than the other and with less ordinary leaves. Two clones mean enormous seed production and idem seedlings (2).
The Asian equivalent, L. camtchatensis, is a little later and smaller and with white spathe (in the middle not blooming yet (1)).
3) I thought I planted Caltha leptosepala but I think it is Caltha palustris alba. Anybody who knows the difference?

[Lori S.]

Wow, very nice, Trond!
Thinking about your marsh marigold... I thought I'd have the answer right off, but now that I look at photos, I see significant differences in leaf shape between the native Caltha leptosepala, a fairly common snowmelt-bloomer in the mountains here, and what I grow as it in the yard. 
1, 2, 3) In the wild
4, 5) In the garden
Hmmm...

[Todd Boland]

Trond, I agree you have Caltha palustris alba....I grow leptosepala as well and the narrow petals are a give away.  You are getting well ahead of both Lori and I.....Lori, how did you fair in the wind and snow yesterday?

[Lori S.]

It snowed here on Thursday afternoon/evening with wet, slushy snow (~1" on the ground) and high winds, and got to -10 deg C overnight - no lasting effects.  The snow turned to extremely high winds through southern Saskatchewan as it progressed eastward... we missed out on that, fortunately.

Todd, what do you think of the "C. leptosepala" plants I have in the garden (last 2 photos)?  The leaves are very different from local wild forms, and petals are not so narrow - I'm doubting its identity now.

[Hoy]

Trond, I agree you have Caltha palustris alba....I grow leptosepala as well and the narrow petals are a give away.  You are getting well ahead of both Lori and I.....Lori, how did you fair in the wind and snow yesterday?

Lori, your plants are different from mine. It seems that the first emerging leaves also differ as well as the petals.

Todd,
Then I have to look for the real thing! Although maybe I am a little ahead of you now you will catch up with me as the spring progress. Just as the eastern part of Norway do. Here on the west coast we enjoy an early spring but when May comes the eastern part of the country get much warmer weather and soon pass us.

[Todd Boland]

Lori your last two photos are certainly not normal forms of leptosepala....perhaps there is natural variation?  What was the source of the plants?

[Todd Boland]

Here is a link to a paper on the relationships between the worlds 10 species of Caltha.  Lori, your unusual one is simply an anomaly of leptosepala.

http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/91/2/247

[Lori S.]

Good to know.  (I don't have to change my records.   )   Thanks for the reference, Todd.  I most likely got the plants from Beaver Creek, years ago.