A friend of mine grows a lily he swears is called the "Philippino Lily" that grows upwards of 8-12' and blooms the first year from seed in solid clay. Is it the Philippine Lily? I have seen his but naturally I had run out of batteries in the camera :(
Is it possible that they may grow so much taller than what is stated in our PlantFiles? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1050/
Thanks!
Vi
Philippine Lily Philippino Lily?
Are the flowers like those pictured - pure white, with possible back side ribs of petals colored brown/maroon/green?
If it is a species, it is more likely Lilium formosanum, very closely related to L. philippinense, and even experts argue about how to tell them apart. L. formosanum is recorded to reach 12+ft, but not philippinense(3ft). If the flower color is as described above, I wouldn't be surprised that whoever gave the lily to him did tell him it was philippinense in good faith.
If the flowers were arranged in an umbel on the stem, it might also be L. leucanthum.
If there is more color to the flowers, my best guess is that it is a hybrid.
Let's see what other ideas others have on this forum . . .
I'll certainly take your word for it, Lefty. I did a little research on the differences and came up with conflicting info.
Yes, conflicting info, me too. Sometimes ya gotta take it in stride, and read between the lines.
He said that it ws a hybrid of the Formosa Lily, all I can remember is that it blooms the first year from seed, is white, and there are a LOT of seeds per pod. I should be seeing him shortly, (and get seeds) but wanted to see what questions to ask him, so thanks!
K, I have some photos!
A bit closer...
Definitely formosanum or at formosanum-like.
K, just got back from my friend's home where we went thru his notes (stuck in the Southern Living Garden Lily page). He got his orginal lily from a small local nursery. The grower had told him that it was a Formosa hybrid, (called Philippeen or Philippeno, he thinks). The blooms are pristine white (no streaks or splotches), usually 1 or 2 the first year & grow 3-5', the 2nd & following years they get taller and have more blooms. They bloom in August down here and his brother and neighbor have had the same results.. He had looked them up in the new Southern Living Garden Book and they did show a pure white flower listed as a Formosa hybrid, I saw it today myself.
So, we now have a pure white Formosa hybrid, right? Can it be listed in our PlantFiles now, and if so how?
Here is a (lightened up) photo of the seeds:
--Adding they are paper thin!
This message was edited Feb 3, 2009 7:10 PM
We can't be sure what it's parentage might be. If it is a hybrid, then a hybrid of what - L. formosanum and what? Listing it in the plant files as a Formosa hybrid would be like listing a vegetable bean variety as a bean hybrid(which it is), and not the real name, like Roma, Tendercrop, Kentucky Wonder, etc. What good does it do? People from all over the net use the plant files for hopeful ID's. We want to be as absolutely succinct and correct as we can be.
Even though it is a hybrid, to me it looks like L.formosanum species. If it shows some qualities of the other parent mixed in, a plant files pic might be useful (and knowing who the other parent would be, of course). As it is, someone might peruse the plant files, looking for an ID of his actual species L.formosanum, come across your pic, and misidentify it as a formosanum hybrid.
Nice pic of the seeds, BTW.
Thanks very much for your input. Before I put anything new into PlantFiles, I do strive to get advice from the experts first, hence this post.
Since I like to trade seeds, would it be ok to post my photos under the L. formosanum noting on each photo that it may be a unknown parentage hybrid or perhaps a sport? (and add my own note about it) As you say, many use PlantFiles just as I did trying to find out what this is. Should it really be ignored? This is a pure white lily that blooms the first year from seed, grows taller and has a real value to a gardener. Since my friend has been growing it for about 4 years and knows it comes true from seed, it is not a fluke or non-existant, it lives, lol.
Ah! I should have caught that it came true from seed before! Hybrids rarely come true from seed. Although, if it is a hybrid of two parents that are already nearly alike (and a possibility here), variations in the seedlings would most likely be similarly lacking. (Sorry that I am being wish-washy again.) FYI, the species L. formosanum can easily bloom the first season from seed in your zone too.
I hadn't thought about the DG system for trading. Your suggestion for posting your seed is a logical one, and I concur. Especially since the lilies look like L.formosanum anyway.
I purchased some seeds off our local Market bulletin in Georgia as Phillipeno lilys, They did bloom the first year from seed and were over 6 feet despite our drought. They set hundreds of seeds for me. The lady called them formosa phillipenos
Pictures of seed pods
Wow! No wonder they're condsidered weeds in some areas.