Appreciation: Eremurus - foxtail lily - fruits

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by wcutler, Jul 24, 2019.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I'd better be right about this ID. I didn't actually know the name Eremurus. But I wasn't happy with what I was seeing chasing down Asphodel or Asphodeline as an ID for these, so looked up some other plants in the Asphodeloideae section of the Asphodelaceae family and came up with foxtail lilies, which maybe I have heard of, have certainly seen. These things are scapes with a terminal raceme, and the fruits are capsules with three locules; seeds are supposed to be 3-angled, sometimes winged, which they are here. Eremurus in Flora of China @ efloras.org. I'll set a reminder to look for flowers next June.
    Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20190724_140659.jpg Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20190724_140507.jpg Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20190724_140628.jpg Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20190724_140854.jpg
     
  2. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Good thing I set a reminder last year to look for the flowers on these foxtail lillies - and a good thing that I named those with the exact location where they were - I was able to walk right over to them today, though I've been seeing them around my neighbourhood, just wrote them off as some perennial I was never going to know the name of. I think someone even posted one for ID; I was leaving that for someone else to answer. I'll go look. In the running for names, according to Wikipedia and internet photos, are Eremurus himalaicus, supposed to be shorter with pure white flowers, around 1 meter tall or a bit more, or Eremurus robustus, more like 2m, with a brown blotch at the base of the flowers, also supposed to have a green keel. The flower photos of the two species look identical to me - I don't really see a brown blotch in any of the photos except for mine, nor does anything appear to me in one but not the other that could be a green keel, but the flowers are closer to 1 meter than 2 meters. Based on size alone, I would say this is Eremurus himalaicus. My efloras link in last year's posting gives four other species. I hope it's not one of those. Those distinctions are way beyond me.
    Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20200608_152035.jpg Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20200608_152117.jpg Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20200608_152146.jpg
     
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  3. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    Beautiful - and a bee!

    As I âge in my gardening experience - I appreciate increasingly some of the oddball appearances and combinations - tho I do like to repeat (in terms of design) something I already have

    So I put in a seasonal container of « focal point » amidst the hostas for example.

    You must have terrific fun walking about that gorgeous part of the metro area being a self-propelled citizen scientist

    I have seen pix of the Vancouver Police equines (evidence photo on your other post) - I would be thrilled to see them out in full tack!
     
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  4. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I went by there today. The flowers are closer to 2 meters than to 1 meter - they are all taller than I am, so maybe that makes these Eremurus robustus.
    Eremurus_StanleyPark-underBridgeToRoseGarden_Cutler_20200619_142832.jpg
     

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