Friday, November 18, 2011

Well, this is embarassing; no, it's Diuranthera major



I didn't have a clue until Amy told me what it was. With the name in hand I googled it, but save, as she observed, it's entry in The Flora of China, and a few scientific papers, it seems like it barely exists. It's right there in the middle of China Valley and I had no idea what it was. There were a few other people at the Arboretum this afternoon, who shall remain nameless, who also didn't know what it is. Still, it's my job; I really ought to have known and I feel.....well stupid sounds harsh. Ignorant, I feel ignorant.

It's an intrepid thing, flowering past the middle of November. Between the combination of late flowering and the curious configuration of the flowers, there's a place for this plant in the gardens of the "Plant Geeks".

4 comments:

Amy F. said...

Diuranthera major? I couldn't place it either, but then I got determined to figure it out. Thank you online Flora of China...
:-)

ChrisU said...

Thanks Amy. Not one that you'd see a lot in the US.

Amy F. said...

Not the most exciting plant maybe, but it does have really cool anthers.

ChrisU said...

No, not the most exciting, but I'm a geek and I see something here that will resonate with my fellows.