This evening when I was deadheading I accidentally cut off a bud spike of Belamcanda chinensis which had buds in various stages. As some of you know, I like to cut things in half, so rather than "waste" the spike I cut it in half. I thought you aficionados might like seeing it.
Here is a link to a 16 meg picture .. dial ups beware
www.nerii.org/Ron/bbla.jpg
Turned over
www.nerii.org/Ron/bblb.jpg
Nice dissection!
Actually, folks, belamcanda chinensis has now been moved to the iris family as of earlier this spring. Just fyi.
I thought it always had been in the Iris family. ?
Then why is it called blackberry lily? It doesn't seem to have the structure of an iris with the flower though the leaves do.
Anyway .. it was interesting splitting it and seeing the unfertilized seeds in the ovaries.
X
Actually, the Blackberry Lily has more in common with Iris than Lilium(true lilies). Daylilies, Lily of the Valley, Amazon Lilies, Surprise Lilies, etc.: they are all called lilies but do not belong to the true lily group. That's just the way common names are - ambiguous.
Regarding Blackberry lilies being a member of the iris family, Jaxon should have been a bit more exacting in his wording.
Yes, Belamcanda chinensis(note the "B" is capitalized) has always been in the iris family (Iridaceae). But the name has been change from B. chinensis to Iris domestica, and is now in the genus Iris instead of the genus Belamcanda.
Ahh.... Lefty, what would we do without you? I am always thankful for your informed and articulate answers. And I really mean that in all sincerity!
Indeed! Thanks
X
Thanks for the update, Lefty. That's a good thing to know. It's hard to keep up on all the changes in classifications and Latin names!
Xeramtheum, I too enjoyed your dissection showing the little unfertilized seeds and other parts.
Hmm, and I just thought that they were pretty. :)
very interesting to see the insides!
Thanks .. I"m still trying to figure out where the pollen is.
X
