When ordering some seeds online, I received a free package of seeds of wild flowers - so I cannot even give any information about where they were normally grow (I planted the seeds in my garden here in Surrey, and they grew. Not very useful information). One, in particular, caught my attention. The leaves look for all the world like a Lupinus but the seed pods look nothing like Lupinus. Also, the seeds themselves are too small for Lupinus - maybe 1 mm across. I wish I had taken a photo of the flower itself but regrets, I did not. There was only one flower head, and it didn't last long anyway. Is there enough with the pictures I have included for an identification? Don Wilson
Yes, I am 100% positive those fruits go with those leaves. I went out today to have another look .. and took some additional pictures. I've posted them here, in their original resolution and it clearly shows that flower stalk growing out of the base of those leaves: Box | Simple Online Collaboration: Online File Storage, FTP Replacement, Team Workspaces There isn't much of the plant left but there is enough to show the Lupinus like leaves, and there is a flower stalk with a single seed pod still on it, the same as the ones I cut off. I've also done an enlargement of the seeds, to show their size and shape. Now, I really regret not getting a picture of the flower itself - I didn't realize that it was peculiar at the time, it was just one I wasn't familiar with. However, I do have the seed pods and some seeds so if they are viable, I may be able to grow some next year. Don Wilson
It is difficult to see, but can't the flower stalk belong to that feathery plant growing very close around the Lupin-like one?
Lupinus would have a pea-like pods. This is something from Liliaceae family. I've just handled Calochortus fruits, which are very much like yours. Tulips have similar fruits, too.
Concur -- fruiting stalk is from some monocot growing as a bulb, leaves are from lupine. The two are probably growing side-by-side below ground.
I dug up the plant and took photos - they are on that Box site ... Box | Simple Online Collaboration: Online File Storage, FTP Replacement, Team Workspaces Upon digging up the plant, the flower stalk still seemed to be coming out of the base and resisted being pulled away from it .. but after I shook off the dirt, I found that you are right; they are two separate plants, with the root of the unknown plant wrapped around the root of the Lupine. No wonder it looked like the same plant ... I guess we'll resolve this next Spring, when / if I can get the seeds to grow. I see you are speaking to the Master Gardener's group on Thursday, October 13th - I hope to meet you then. Don Wilson
Great, see you then. They do look quite a bit like Calochortus fruit like Andrey mentions; if this was a California wildflower mix, I'd consider that a possibility. I would have expected more of a bulb though.
Check also Tricyrtis, a close relative of Calochortus. It has similar fruits and rhizomes instead of bulbs. Photo of the roots of Toad Lily (Tricyrtis formosana 'Samurai') posted by Hazelcrestmikeb (National Gardening Association)
Why not to ask the seed seller what there is in the package? They surely should know what they are selling.
