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Erythronium 2024

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Herman Mylemans:
Erythronium dens-canis 'White Splendour'

Claire Cockcroft:
Yours are ahead of most of mine!  Nice pictures.
...Claire

Robert:
I thought that some of the Forumists might enjoy some background information regarding the ‘Cliftonii’ form of Erythronium multiscapideum.

My guess is most, if not all, Erythronium multiscapideum ‘Cliftonii’ in Europe are derived from genetic material collected at the Pulga Bridge site on the North Fork of the Feather River in Butte County, California. Wayne Roderick was responsible for introducing the Pulga Bridge population to a number of botanists and other well-respected plant people.

The ‘Cliftonii’ form of Erythronium multiscapideum might also be considered an ecotype. Based on my field studies of Erythronium multiscapideum, it appears that the elements of the basic ‘Cliftonii’ genotype exist throughout the complete population of this species in California: The Pulga Bridge site is not the only location where this ecotype can be found. There are other populations located at some distance, but still in the general vicinity, to the Pulga Bridge site where this ecotype is found. In addition, ‘Cliftonii’ type plants occasionally appear in populations far removed from the Pulga Bridge site. These wayward plants are frequently misidentified as another species of Erythronium or a new species. Plotting the populations of ‘Cliftonii’ type plants could take the appearance of a histogram with outlier individuals far removed from the central core population sites in Butte County.  Environmental factors may also partly account for some facets of the ‘Cliftonii’ phenotype. To date, all the populations of Erythronium multiscapideum ‘Cliftonii’ that I am aware of are found on serpentine based soils, including the wayward individual plants.

When wild populations of Erythronium multiscapideum are examined carefully, it becomes apparent that the species expresses diverse sets of many phenotypes, some of which may be of significant horticultural value. In addition, there is some evidence that high elevation forms of Erythronium multiscapideum in its northern range may have hybridized with Erythronium purpurescens sometime in the distant past and have now formed stable populations. It is all very fascinating. A great deal of additional research needs to be done.

Herman Mylemans:
Thank you Robert! It is always interesting to know more about the history of a plant.

Robert:

--- Quote from: Herman Mylemans on March 28, 2024, 09:04:45 AM ---Thank you Robert! It is always interesting to know more about the history of a plant.

--- End quote ---

Herman

I appreciate that you posted photographs of a number of Western North American Erythronium species from your garden. They certainly are well grown and seem very well adjusted to your climatic/garden environment. I often wonder how these species respond under variable garden/environmental conditions. For example, do the brown markings on the base of the petals of Erythronium multiscapideum ‘Cliftonii’ always express under differing soil, and temperature extremes? Are differing phenotype expressions a function of the genotype, environmental factors, or both? I certainly am not looking for someone to answer these questions, however I do ponder such things. Much of the enjoyed I get out of gardening is from conducting experiments and doing research to answers such questions.

Thank you for posting photographs of so many interesting species. I enjoy the Trilliums too, even though, for the most part, they do not grow well in our garden.

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