Split flowers caused by the maple and maple-willow genes

This morning I had three different plants blooming with split flowers. These plants are from systems known to carry the maple and maple-willow gene.

As you will see, not all plants with these characteristics have flowers that anyone would care to look at long.... however, when I get a plant that produces good confirmation flowers, it is worth the effort involved.

This first plant is a very strong maple plant, with leaves with five narrow fingers. This plant is over eleven feet tall and still going... The edges of the leaves are rolled also. The edges of the split elements have really nice tendrils.

..this is a second flower from the above plant.

This a another plant from the same system as above, however the leaves are willow shaped from the maple-willow gene. It to is a vigorous plant, but the flowers are odd and not very attractive. a novelty at best!

You can see that the sepals on the buds and blooms are twisted. This bloom will open tomorrow, and you can sse a dried flower from the past. The mature bloom will be a shade of purple.

..this shows a contorted open flower...

...and this shows clearly the twisted nature of the sepals...

This third plant is a plant with the maple-willow and alos the crystal variegation and small stature of the Princess type plants. I really like this one.

...and another flower from this plant.

..this shows more of the plant...I have it growing in a pot on the patio...really nice.

Arlan

Very interesting Arlan. I like the one on your patio, very nice.
Thanx for letting us take a look.

Jackie

Arlan they are all so cool looking!!!

The leaves really do resemble those of willows and maple. Very interesting plants, Arlan!

Joseph

Arlan -

Yes,this one has a nice 'bearded' edge to the petals
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/atenkley_1182102663_631.jpg

This specimen here
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/atenkley_1182103339_205.jpg
seems to be bordering on a lack of tissue differentiation between the corolla and the sepals...the sepals seem to be 'following' the twisting of the unopened corolla...

Nice specimens...(!)...

TTY,...

Ron

Arlan,
When were the seeds started for the Crystal Willow plants.. boy it seems like it is one huge plant from the photo, it looks like a full pot. Very nice plants and I kinda like the flowers too, I need to get used to that dianthus look.

Thanks Arlan for sharing this nice discriptive pictorial of these very different unusual looking flowers. I enjoyed reading this. The patio plant is very showy and I`m glad you shared this one. Karen

This message was edited Jun 20, 2007 9:23 AM

Thanks everyone for your observations and comments. I have really enjoyed these plants on the weekends..! Unfortunately, they have had to pretty much fend for themselves during the week..though I did install a drip system for the pots.

Maybe some of your share this with me....I find that I am appreciating these flowers more by observing the pictures that I take than by looking at them in person. Part of it is that I am in such a hurry in the few mornings that I am home to get pictures of all that is blooming, that I don't take the time to really observe closely and appreciate some of them. The joys of digital cameras!

Ron, this twisted flower buds are a case in point. This plant is growing on a trellis system on the side of the carport, has grown all the way up to the top and is just now starting to flower...with all the buds about 9 feet up...so the only way for me to see them is from the ladder. I did not see this trait until looking at the pictures I took. This particular system has some diverse genetics as it also contains a plant that has dragon claw type leaves, grown just as big, but not flowered yet...

Antoinette, I planted all of these mutants on the 3rd of March, and some of them have been blooming for quite some time, while others are just starting. for some reason, I got a lot of initial buds early on which yellowed and dropped as the plant transitioned into vegetative growth again...and are just now starting to flower. It was probably the miracle Grow Potting soil ( with fertilizer)...! I did not have (translate ..take ) the time to find more appropriate potting medium when faced with the daunting task of potting the seedlings...

My favorite as well is the Crystal Willow plant. Its small stature, and heavy flower substance ( long lasting flowers) , and beautiful variegation are a delight. You can see all five plants from this system here: http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/vbc/atenkley/46148/

This system also includes the plant blooming double flowers.

Talk to you all later....

Arlan

Did you start these very early? I have experienced some problems with some JMG I started early inside the house in Jan/ February and moved them outside in March.

My willow leaf mutant dropped all its buds for some unknown reason and I used regular garden soil for the pot. It is forming new buds right now so I`m optimistic.

Karen, all of these plants came from seeds planted on March 3rd. Each seed was planted individually in 3 inch pots and placed on the back patio for germination. The plants showing mutant characteristics were further planted in larger pots while the others were planted in the garden.

I don't know if the bud drop I experienced was caused by being potted, or is just a characteristic of the plant. I do know that the maple leaved plant that is in the garden also showed some bud drop, but not as severe as those in the pots....but then its mutation is not as "severe" as the maple-willow plants.

Looking forward to pictures of your maple-willow flowers!

Arlan

Arlan, thanks for the information,

I'm behind you all, mine were started in Mid-May, some are just starting to vine so there is a ways to go here.

Here are a couple more from this morning.

this is a new one blooming in blue...

...this is the same one that had the twisted sepals.....it has settled down a bit!

...and finally, this is the maple plant this morning...still doing it's thing.....

Arlan

Arlen, these are hugely fascinating to me, too - not only for themselves but also for their proximity to the old Edo woodcuts - it's almost like seeing them come alive.

For newbies who haven't checked out Dr. Yonedo's website, see Fig 14 on http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/Asagao/Yoneda_DB/E/slides/slide068-079.html

Thank you for pointing out the genetics of these strange beauties