Woodlander - Disporum relative

[Tim Orpin]

Hi All,

I have been given a few pieces of a pretty little woodlander but have not been able to ID it on the web. Growth habit is similar to a Disporum with alternate sessile leaves. I am told it is evergreen in our climate - zone 9. Flower stems (5-7cm long) arise from the leaf axils and are generally single (sometimes double), open and upright. Flower colour is soft pink/purple with a white collar at the centre. Plant height is about 60cm with growth via a spreading underground rhizome. I need to give it a label and then hope it takes off. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Apologies for the quality of the pictures but I wanted to get this off tonight. Taking photos in the dark is not the best.

Tim

[Lesley Cox]

A new one on me Tim but it looks ever-so-slightly Tricyrtis-like. They're largely evergreen here. The flowers aren't right though.

[Maggi Young]

I was thinking a Maianthemum...but I don't know one with such big pink flowers!

[Tim Orpin]

Thought of Tricyrtis but I agree that it is not the right flower form. Growth is similar and many of my plants are also evergreen, albeit a bit shabby at the end of winter.

Had not considered Maianthemum but did some quick research and it also does not appear to match. One big difference is that Maianthemum appear to have a terminal inflorescence whereas this produces larger single flowers on a long thin stem at each leaf axil. None of the species I could find looked at all similar. Forgot to mention that it is flowering now in the southern hemisphere so is a late summer/autumn bloomer - also like Tricyrtis.

[Lesley Cox]

Oh well, maybe when I see it in the flesh.....Or can you email the pictures to Chen Yi? It looks Chinese.

[Tim Orpin]

Could it be a Streptopus? Looks close but still not quite right. Does not key out from US or Asian species. Still a mystery.

[Maggi Young]

Don't Streptopus have more campanulate flowers?

[fermi de Sousa]

Tim, is this the plant that Otto asked you to get identified? I thought he said the flower was a pale blue?
cheers
fermi

[Tim Orpin]

Yes and none that I can find are pink/purple. It is a very attractive little woodlander and not an Australian native so it is hard to believe that it arrived here without being of fairly common garden origin somewhere else. Tried sending pics to Chen Yi in China to see if she has any ideas but no response as yet.

[Paul T]

Tim,

What about Smilacina?  I'm not sure whether their flowers are terminal or axillary, but I think from memory their flowers are like that?  I could of course be remembering something completely different but putting that name to it!? LOL

[Tim Orpin]

Fermi, Otto tells me that it was pale blue when he picked it but it was pink by the time it got to me later that night. Colour in the picture is pretty accurate. Stephen Ryan and Lynn McGough also have no idea - but they both want some!

The 'cuttings' still look great in the vase and flowers continue to open (pink not blue). Maybe it will also strike in a vase.

Paul, it must be closely related but it did not key out to Smilacina and this plant does not have a terminal inflorescence.

Might have to try pollinating some of my tricytris with this mystery plant and see what happens.

By the way - the world is not longer safe. Otto Fauser is finally online as of today.

[gote]

I agree it could well be chinese. Why not try the flora of China keyes. Just google for "flora of china" and have a go at liliaceae (They use the old name)

[Lesley Cox]

There's often a clue, as Maggi says. Most members of the Boraginaceae change from blue to pink so anything there? Leaves should be alternate (yes) but I would say most have 5 not 6 petals. Doesn't really look like a forget-me-not.

Thrilled about Otto's on-line status. Roll on the next Crocus season (autumn species just starting here).

[Tim Orpin]

Not Boraginaceae.

Ange and I have attempted to key the mystery plant out on both Flora of China and Flora of North America. Closest we can get to is Tricyrtis but stigma lobes are clearly not 2-parted and the alternative is definitely not a match. Flora of North America was even less satisfying ending up at Uvularia. We are still stumped. Luckily we are not trying to earn our living as botanists - they might want to cancel our degrees.

Looks like I need another key.

Lots of beautiful Crocus and Colchicums flowering in Otto's garden at the moment. But it may be a while before he starts posting pics.

[Lesley Cox]

Well then, this is obviously the plant referred to in a personal message from Martin Baxindale to me today. It was a gentle dig at our "permitted list" system and in it he suggested that if the first ever aliens from outer space were to land in NZ bringing a fabulous new and rare plant as a gift signifying peace and friendship with other worlds, our MAF would say "no, sorry, it's not on the "permitted list," take it away. Likewise to the aliens themselves since they too, would be a new and therefore unacceptable species. Most fortunately, it seems Australia has let the little green guys - and their pink plant - enter the country. I'll look forward to chatting with your friend Terry Lockyer about it.