I just came across the genus Gethyllis in the Summerfield seed and bulb list for the first time, and it looks very interesting. Looks odd and reminds me mostly of Eriospermum. It immediately went high on my wish list. Unfortunately this list only offers it as (quite expensive!) bulbs. I prefer sowing over obtaining bulbs, especially from the southern hemisphere.
Anyone with some advice on getting my hands on some Gethyllis seeds (or maybe bulbs from the nortern hemisphere)? Preferably not via Ebay.
Gethyllis seeds?
Re: Gethyllis seeds?
I have a couple Gethyllis species.
The best one has spiral leaves.
The one with spiral leaves has the name Gethyllis sp. on the tag, so it may not have a real name yet.
photo from Goggle, (G. linearis, maybe the same species as mine)
Last September, it flowered and then selfed to produce a nice fruit.
After ripening, I opened it up and the seeds were really big and translucent, almost like Salmon eggs.
here is another photo from Goggle, showing the large fruit
I planted them all, and they have sprouted and are growing.
Hopefully next year I will gets some more seeds.
From Goggle, seed pods in the wild.
The best one has spiral leaves.
The one with spiral leaves has the name Gethyllis sp. on the tag, so it may not have a real name yet.
photo from Goggle, (G. linearis, maybe the same species as mine)
Last September, it flowered and then selfed to produce a nice fruit.
After ripening, I opened it up and the seeds were really big and translucent, almost like Salmon eggs.
here is another photo from Goggle, showing the large fruit
I planted them all, and they have sprouted and are growing.
Hopefully next year I will gets some more seeds.
From Goggle, seed pods in the wild.
- greenknight
- Posts: 4815
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:18 am
- Location: SW Washington State zone 8b
Re: Gethyllis seeds?
I'd never heard of these before, but after seeing this I had to know more. I think I found the reason why seeds are not available - according to this page ( http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/i ... /gethyllis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) the seeds are perishable, they germinate immediately after being released from the fruit (presumably by animals) no matter what the conditions are. Sounds like the only way to distribute seeds would be to ship the intact fruit.
Spence
Re: Gethyllis seeds?
As Spence indicates, I remember reading years ago Kew Gardens in the UK never had any luck germinating seed of a certain plant (can't remember what it was) but they had the thought perhaps the seeds should never dry out since they germinated in habitat directly from the fruits when the fruits hit the ground and rotted. They asked to be sent some still in the rotting fruit and advised our Customs not to throw the rotting mass away as useless, but send straight on to Kew. Evidently they then set it as received and the seed germinated freely.
As we all know different seed has different germination characteristics, some needs to be sown very fresh for maximum germination and some needs to be aged.
As we all know different seed has different germination characteristics, some needs to be sown very fresh for maximum germination and some needs to be aged.
Re: Gethyllis seeds?
I dried the seeds out for a couple weeks after I harvested the fruit, since they were still stuck to the fruit with goo.
They didn't start germinating until I sowed them and watered the pot.
So I'm not sure how valid the claim of germinating the second they hit the soil is.
But maybe if the soil is moist, they might germinate quickly.
I planted some Cheiridopsis seeds in what I thought was dry soil, and days later, they germinated any way just from the humidity of covered container.
They didn't start germinating until I sowed them and watered the pot.
So I'm not sure how valid the claim of germinating the second they hit the soil is.
But maybe if the soil is moist, they might germinate quickly.
I planted some Cheiridopsis seeds in what I thought was dry soil, and days later, they germinated any way just from the humidity of covered container.
Last edited by C And D on Thu Dec 01, 2016 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- greenknight
- Posts: 4815
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:18 am
- Location: SW Washington State zone 8b
Re: Gethyllis seeds?
If you get very many seeds. perhaps you could do some experiments to find out what the real story is. How many seeds are in one of those fruits?
Spence