In message
,
Dave Hill writes
On 8 Feb, 10:01, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:
In message
,
Dave Poole writes
Try Leucothoe axillaris, because that's what it is. *Stachyurus is a
genus of deciduous shrubs/small trees, which discounts it in the first
place. *Give the plant another few weeks for the flowers to develop
fully because the photograph portrays one that has a little way to go
yet. *As the inflorescence develops, the basal bracts dehisce and are
not normally present by the time the flowers have reached maturity.
Thanks.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
I would have said Leucothoe fontanesiana , it seems a dead ringer for
the 3 I have growing here.
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
I've gone and checked Weakley's "Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia,
Georgia, and surrounding areas". It only has two species of Leucothoe,
but they happen to be L. axillaris and L. fontanesiana. According to
this L. axillaris has acute or shortly acuminate leaf apices, and ovate
sepals with rounded or obtuse apices, and L. fontanesiana long acuminate
leaf apices and ovate-lanceolate sepals with acute or sub-acute apices;
the other distinguishing characters are raceme and petiole lengths,
which can't be evaluated from the photographs, especially with immature
racemes.
Unfortunately, even with these hints I can't tell which it is - from
looking at photographs via Google I'd thought L. axillaris had the
closer jizz. It looks as if I may have to take a closer look at the
plants later this year, if I remember what I should be looking for.
[I've found a 1977 paper saying that L. walteri is the correct name for
L. fontanesiana, but the latter still seems to have the lead in usage.]
I found a couple of unfiled photographs from the same garden, taken a
little later in the year.
http://www.stewart.hinsley.me.uk/Images/May090.jpg
http://www.stewart.hinsley.me.uk/Images/May091.jpg
However I think that they're from a different location in the garden,
and appear not to be the same plant - the bracts are smaller, and appear
to be persistent. They're listed in my notebook as "Gaultheria?"
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley