Hepatica 2010

[Ulla Hansson]

The seeds of Hepatica maxima is black, it's not on any other Hepatica I have seen.
Ulla

[Gunhild Poulsen]

I have seen several black seeds of japonica.
Gunhild

[Diane Clement]

The seeds of Hepatica maxima is black, it's not on any other Hepatica I have seen.    Ulla   

Hepatica maxima seed is much larger than other Hepatica seed and is black one end and white the other.  It also has a different germination pattern and takes two years to germinate. 
I can't find a picture of the seed, so I've made a diagram

[Gail]

Here is a pic of my H. maxima seed last year.  The white half doesn't show up very well but they are like mianiature versions of the ying yang beans.

(I don't think they take two years to germinate with me.)

[Peter Maguire]

John,
I was very impressed with your range of japonica seedlings. Did you deliberately cross-pollinate specific singles, or are they open pollinated in the greenhouse? Also I wondered whether cross-pollinating japonica with the european nobilis (say the deep cobalt blue form) has been tried.

Peter

[WimB]

Hepatica maxima seed is much larger than other Hepatica seed and is black one end and white the other.  It also has a different germination pattern and takes two years to germinate. 
I can't find a picture of the seed, so I've made a diagram

(I don't think they take two years to germinate with me.)

With me they don't take two years: I've sown some last year in May and they are germinating now.

[Diane Clement]

With me they don't take two years: I've sown some last year in May and they are germinating now. 

All my other hepaticas are sown in May or June and germinate in the spring, but I've never actually grown H maxima from seed, so I was just quoting what John Massey had said about them taking two years to germinate, clearly other people's experiences are different.  It is certainly a very different looking seed

[WimB]

[All my other hepaticas are sown in May or June and germinate in the spring, but I've never actually grown H maxima from seed, so I was just quoting what John Massey had said about them taking two years to germinate, clearly other people's experiences are different.  It is certainly a very different looking seed

Something new to learn every day on this forum, eh Diane. I know I do.
They are very different looking seeds indeed. And the first to germinate with me. All the H. nobilis and H. japonica seeds which I've sown last year are not yet germinating.

[WimB]

Diane, forgot to ask. Do you keep the Hepatica's which have just germinated outdoors or do you take them indoors? And if you take them indoors do you place them in the shade or in the sun?

[Diane Clement]

Diane, forgot to ask. Do you keep the Hepatica's which have just germinated outdoors or do you take them indoors? And if you take them indoors do you place them in the shade or in the sun? 

Hi Wim
Very interesting about the H maxima. Do they ripen in the same way as the other species (as the other species are often still green when ready to sow).

My nobilis and japonica (sown last June)  started germinating a couple of weeks ago, and I continue to find newly germinated pots every few days at the moment.  The pots have been outside and uncovered all winter and as they germinate, I bring them under cover but shaded. 

[WimB]

Hi Diane,

I'm not sure about their ripening process, I got them from a friend and they were black/white when I sowed them. There wasn't any green to see.
Thanks for the info.

Wim

[Gunilla]

I also got seed of Hepatica maxima from a friend last year.  It was late August when the seed fell off her plant so they seem to need a longer time to ripen.   I sowed them at once and hope they will germinate this spring. 

[Afloden]

Gunhild,
 
 There will always be disagreement in the literature, especially in reading a flora of a particular area because they tend to be slightly outdated in the literature they use and resistant to change. Even the scientific literature is in disagreement. We could be calling these all Anemones of the species nobilis, or would it be A. hepatica, and its varieties.

 Hepatica maxima is a good species, completely distinct in morphology and DNA. H. insularis is native to the southern mountains and islands of Korea and is also very unique. Hepatica henryi is in north-central China and apparently separated from H. yamatutai, which is endemic to Emei Shan. They are completely distinct in morphology and easily told apart. Zonneveld (unpubl.-still?) shows that the two are distinct in nuclear DNA content also supported by Mabuchi et al. (2005). Sadly Zonneveld does not support the distinction of keeping H. acutiloba and H. americana separate -- which are clearly distinct in morphology and habitat, though I have seen populations where the two are close together (<100m). He also lumps H. asiatica (from mainland China and Korea) with H. n. japonica, making H. asiatica var. japonica, but I think the two being geographically isolated should be kept separate; H. asiatica and H. japonica (nobilis is European). My experience is that H. asiatica has more pointed lobes than what is typical for the H. japonica types.

 Aaron Floden

[Michael J Campbell]

A few more from here today.
Hepatica japonica  Anjyu 1
Hepatica japonica  Anjyu 2
Hepatica japonica shokouden 1
Hepatica japonica shokouden 2
Hepatica japonica haruno-awayuki 1
Hepatica japonica haruno-awayuki 2
Hepatica japonica pink
Hepatica nobilis rubra plena
Hepatica nobilis indigo strain
Hepatica Maxima.

[Michael J Campbell]

And one more

A mixed batch on the bench.