Iris family?

[Middleton]

Caught this bloom a couple of weeks ago. The label was lost during the winter.  I would like an identification to compare with my seed germination records.  After removing the seed heads more blooms have appeared but each lasts only one day.
Thanks.

[Lori S.]

So sorry that you have had no responses on this ID yet, Middleton. 
Do/did the flowers have 5 petals or 6?  (It appears to be 5 in the photo but was that the norm?  Iridaceae would normally have 6 petals, so I was wondering.)

Would you have any objection to your query being cross-posted over at the SRGC forum?  I'm certain that you would have it identified quickly there.

[IMYoung]

Might be Calydorea amabilis .... but a post on the SRGC would bring a quick answer as Lori says, I'm sure.... lots of Irid lovers there.  I'll point them in this direction. 


 I think there are three  plus three flower parts in the photo, by the way, easier to see when it is much magnified.

[Lori S.]

Ah, yes, I make out 6 now.  Thanks!

[Middleton]

Two more pretty blooms were captured. I went searching the Internet Iris family and found Calydorea pallens as the closest in colour markings and petal shapes. Yes it has six petals. Hopefully I can attach the clearer photo of the two blooms.    I referred to my germination record and found seed obtained from NARGS of Calydorea pallens & sown in 2009. Does anyone agree?
Thanks for replying Lori and Maggie.
Sharon

[McDonough]

Recommend going through the Iridaceae genera at the Pacific Bulb Society wiki image galleries, if you haven't already done so:
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Iridaceae

Your plant sort of looks like a Cypella, like Cypella hauthalii, or possibly Calydorea amabilis.  I'm not expert on any of these Irids, but another outlet would be to post to the Pacific Bulb Society, as there are many experts on such bulbs there, and they would surely have some suggestions.

[IMYoung]

 Another SRGC Forumist agreed with me about the Calydorea amabilis id on the SRGC Forum and I still think that it  the most likely candidate.... I don't think C. pallens is right ( could easily have been mis-named seed- that does happen   )



First pic...
Calydorea amabilis Credit to:  Arte Cifuentes 2007 Gosford NSW Australia (Arte Cifuentes, 22-OCT-09) from the super website of the Species Iris Group of North America  http://www.signa.org


Second pic is from this commercial website
http://www.bgbulbs.com/cpt/displayimage.php?album=58&pos=0



Here is a page with various Calydorea pictured: http://www.bulbsociety.org/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Calydorea/Calydorealist.shtml

Posting to the Pacific  Bulb Society is only open to members.

[Middleton]

Yes, now I see the flower petal shapes and colours resemble C. amablis somewhat better than C. pallens.  There indeed may have been an error in seed identification.  Is the correct procedure to send the seed as a species to the Exchanges if one is not quite sure of the exact identity?
Thanks all!

[IMYoung]

Is the correct procedure to send the seed as a species to the Exchanges if one is not quite sure of the exact identity?

It is not the best course of action, that's for sure! Sadly there are many cases of mis-identified seed... often done quite innocently and without any bad intention on the part of the donor, of course, but this can cause lots of confusion and irritation down the line, as you might imagine. Seed Exchange volunteers in all the societies do take considerable trouble to idenitfy seedc as correct but with limited time and resources and literally thousands of donations of thousands of taxa being donated, it would be an impossible task to be 100 per cent sure of every naming. Even botanic gardens with access to huge seed databases and the most advanced seed records that are likely to be seen anywhere are capable of making errors.... that's life, I guess!

[IMYoung]

In the SRGC Forum, we are attempting to encourage the creation of a portfolio of photographs of named/checked seeds - the results so far can be seen here : http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4426.0

I would encourage anyone with seed they do know to be correctly named to photograph it  clearly on graph paper (of  a clearly stated size) and to submit  those photographs to me for addition to this scheme.
The intention in time would be to have CDs of the photos for use by those sorting/ listing seeds for the exchanges of our various organisations but at the moment the photos are at least viewable by all with internet access on the SRGC site.

 Photos may be emailed to me at  maggi AT bulblog.co.uk  (... removing the a spaces and adding @, of course! )