Tropaeolum 2012

[ashley]

... this isn't the true Tr BRACHYCERAS. Most probably a hybrid close to Tr x TENUIROSTRE ( there's some reddish tint on the calyx ), and the spur is not short.

Do you think this is mis-identified then Jean-Patrick?

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hello Ashley and Roland,
I don't have the real species in cultivation but think the pic on the Telos Rare Bulbs web site is quite close to it. Joy BISHOP ( of the AGS ) has diplayed on shows her plant which also seems to match the species' description. And you can find some others by browsing the internet. One of the most important feature is the short spur of the flowers. This has been described by SPARRE in his monography on the genus and can be checked on pictures published by John & Anita WATSON. There's also another source in the CURTIS's BM ( just have a look at Richard WILFORD's paper and the plant drawing ( p 250-254 ).
Of course I think most of the Tr BRACHYCERAS in cultivation are misidentified. Most of them are hybrids.
But this is only a taxonomic discussion. Every Tropaeolum- might it be a hybrid- is well worth growing...
JP

[Maggi Young]

I was having a look around the Forum to see what plants of T. brachyceras had been shown in the Forum....
Nate Kelso gave a link to this one....
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150798372929134&set=a.10150798363159134.462437.572524133&type=3&l=e167d2c732&theater  from the Edinburgh show: I don't know whose plant it is.

These pix from Fermi are from Australia:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9156.msg250316#msg250316    and
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=5963.msg167104#msg167104

This from Paul T, also in Australia http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2068.msg53545#msg53545

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=5429.msg152667#msg152667 John Lupton's plant on the show bench in Aberdeen

I thought that there were pix here of Joy Bishop's plant from one of the forumists from an English show... but I can't find it here. There will be some in the AGS website, I expect.

[ashley]

Thanks Maggi.  Most of these look similar to one another but different, except perhaps the last, from the plant on the ChileFlora website.

Thanks for explaining what you meant Jean-Patrick. 
I agree that they're all very attractive and well worth trying to grow, but it's nice to know what we're growing too

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hi Maggi,
Thanks for giving us these links. Should I make some comments?
The plant displayed by Nathan KELSO has quite nothing to do with Tr BRACHYCERAS. The flower shape ( and size ) links it to Tr BEUTHII.
John LUPTON's plant is clearly a hybrid
Paul T's one is more interesting as the flower seems to match the species ( as does the size ) but we have only one shot and the spur isn't well shown. Anyway, in the descriptions the spur is greenish and can be inflated at the midle. The apex is obtuse and may have a little short black appendage ( from SPARRE's publication ).
JP

[bulborum]

What do you think of Chileflora's picture
for me the spur is long too

Roland

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Roland,
 Chile Flora's photos of Tr Brachyceras show a hybrid form. Of course they're quite nice...
And there are also confusions on other tropaeolum species shown on their website ( Tr Leptophyllum for example ). So that you're not really sure of what you get.
JP

[bulborum]

I thought their seeds where wild collected

Roland

[Kirsten]

Jean-Patrick
I got this as Tropaeolum brachyceras 8 years ago. Is it also a hybrid? The seedlings from the plant all looks exactly like the mother plant.

[Stephen Vella]

Kristen that's an impressive Tropaeolum and those flowers look amazing 

cheers

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Kirsten,
What an extraordinary plant!!! But this is a hybrid, very close to Tr X Tenuirostre. The spur is long and thin. Your kind of plant is very commonly seen on pictures on the internet and  nurseries websites
Very impressive plant indeed! and you seem to grow some other ones ( There's one Tr Tricolor in the background... ).
JP

[Kirsten]

Thanks Jean-Patrick. Yes, I do grow some other Tropaeolums, you can see them on my website.

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Roland,
I think the seeds are collected in the wild but the main problem is to identify the species correctly. Tr Brachyceras also grows and hybridizes in the wild ( there are pictures on the website of plants taken in habitat which are "wild" hybrids ). As I previously wrote you can't be sure of what you really get until the first bloom. And you sometimes have wonderful surprises ( seed exchange )...

[Jupiter]

I agree there is some confusion around the true species type T.brachyceras. Here's a picture of mine, grown from wild collected seed sourced from a private person in Chile.

As you can see the flowers are quite short and dumpy and the spurs are green with no hint of red.

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hello,
This month I had the incredible surprise of a germination from a Tr ARGENTINUM seed. I remember I've sown some in my PLUMERIA pot more than one year ago. I then decided to sow quite all my seed stock ( 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011 ) in a big pot. To my great surprise 3 seeds have germinated ( from the 2008 & 2009 batches ). None of all the many others ( sown in separate seed pots in 2011 and early 2012 ) have shown any sign of life. I don't know what triggered germination but one important fact is to be emphasized : seed viability ( considering that they're kept in fridge ) is of at least 4 years. I should advise Tropaeolum growers not to discard ANY seed of this tricky species as they may germinate one day...
JP