PlantFiles Pictures: Tropaeolum (Tropaeolum sessilifolium), 1 by Ursula

Ursula wrote:
I have seen that on-line catalogue and have a printed version as well. They have an ample variety of Chilean Native plant seeds, even one that is a protected species: Leontochir ovallei (Garra de León -lyon's claw). It is absolutely forbidden to collect seeds, cut flowers or dig tubers in Chile and I do not think the seeds they sell are obtained in the U.K. since this plant is native of the Atacama Desert. I'm enclosing a picture of this Alstroemeria relative.

What are your maximum temperatures during summer? This summer, we have had quite a few days with 35°C - but the only time this year I was in the mountains (when I made the pictures) the maximum temperatures were 32°C.

The Tropaeolum hybridizations I have observed are all spontaneous, in the wild. (BTW, only a few 'loonies' like myself grow wild plants here). Unfortunately, their blooming period is from late winter (August) in the coastal area, to late spring early Dec. in our case), so I can not make any pictures for you until then. The only solid-yellow plant I have found so far grows at the side of a dirt road and is always covered with a lot of dust LOL. However, the colour is not a bright colour as T. brachyceras http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/82534/index.html but rather a dull yellow. This plant (or plants) are a solid mass of over 1 square meter, but not one seed found after really looking hard for them.

However, the other variations I have seen (some 8 Km from the yellow one), are all bright-coloured: some were deep red and had only the yellow 'lips', missing the blue-ring, others were bright orange and had the yellow lips plus the blue ring, etc. All these were spontaneuos hybrids.

My reference books (Dra. Paulina Riedemann and her husband) mention these spontaneous hybridizations between Tropaeolum species.

Come visit Chile - you will never regret it!

Leontochir ovallei: