The dawning of..........

Lilium speciosum var. gloriosoides!

Wow. Gorgeous!
ROX

Looks great!

Fantastic! Can't wait until tomorrow (or the next day) when the tepals separate and(probably) curve back more. I'd go ahead and separate them manually, but it could be that forma carnivorosum! LOL

Rick

Ooooo, WOW! :-))

I'm not scared... I'll come over and separate the tepals and maybe snitch a scale or two...

pardalinum it's booby trapped! Hmm, I suppose it is possible to take a scale or two off it, would it set the bulb back at all?

Leftwood, they do recurve very well, I remember from the last flowers I saw. This is more coloured than before, still not like the one in the pic we saw. Next year it may change again. It metamorphises.

The anthers are very large and dramatic for such a delicate looking lily. I could do to move it to get a better pic, but that may prove fatal!

Take a closer look ........

ooo la la that's pretty wallaby! I do so hope mine survive to that stage.

Stunning!

Ohhhhhhhhh! SWEET!

Those undulations are so beautiful. (That bad-neighbor brand fertilizer really works!)

Well done!

Robert.

From the edge of my seat I eagerly await further revelations from gloriosoides.

Ha!

#1 flower has fully recurved, I got some shots through the end where the pane of glass is missing, there is a #2 which was opening.

I tried to get some shots from inside the greenhouse, which I managed (difficult as the ground is tiptoe space), then I tried to move the #1 flower to a better position so I could get a better shot, at that point it dropped 180 degrees facing south! The stem where it joined was brown at the edge, it was leaning on the cane, and my turning the whole thing to make it fit must have damaged it. I had to lean the whole stem, it was too tall to put straight upwards.

I must take better care if I am to get any chance of seeds! So difficult, if I put it outside the whole thing would be damaged by winds.

Still, a great photo opportunity. I took several shots at all angles inside, the flash of course went off and this is where you may get the excessive red colour. I did manage one near the window, so the true colour of the flower is revealed, although the anthers are over exposed.

#1 in full light

#2 flower

The two in one shot (don't you just want to wash off that green stuff on the glass)

Absolutely fabulous! I want one. Great photographs too. Sometimes it is so hard to capture how beautiful these flowers are, but you have done a fine job.

Now I do wonder where the genes for the red spots and bitty things on Dizzy comes from.

Oh yes, I hadn't checked for a scent. I put my nose to it and it has quite a strong scent which is spicy and reminds me of a good quality men's deodorant, but I couldn't give you a brand. If I came across a man wearing it I might be interested!

Indoor shots

Thank you magnolialover,

gee I don't know if they are available, if I get seeds I will be able to trade some.

pardalinum or anyone else can you tell me just when I should be trying to daub the pollen on the middle thing? Should I do it from a different flower or the same will do?

Dig this, face on the anthers surround the face

Hmm, this flower that 'fell off' already has pollen on the middle thing, maybe I don't need to pollinate, or it could be beacuse it has been moved and shaken. There is plenty of air moving into the greenhouse, it's next to the gaping hole/pane missing.

A peek into the back of it

A close up reveals white glandular lumps in the veins running from the throat

The show off pose

Oh, how I long for "smell-o-vision"!!! :-}

The shot with natural light near the window, no flash

Deanna, it is a wonderful scent, the only thing I could do is go into an expensive shop and smell all the men's deodorants! I think I would get some strange looks...

Impressive lily.

jmorth, impressive and also fascinating!

The more I look at it, the more I see. Looking at the reverse you can see the petal edges turn backwards nearer the centre.

I have just noticed that the rear 3 petals are well separated from the front 3. The last pic shows this well. The rear petals also have the white glands, I wonder if these are the scent glands.

I noticed on the earlier close up pic when first opening the anthers are very close to the middle bit for fertilisation, separating later as it opens. I guess they would be close as it opens, but it's the correct length. Could this be the vital time for fertilisation?

A complex lily indeed!

I wonder if it would survive zone 5. A true beauty. I was reading in the peony forum that someone actually dug a yellow peony out of someone's front yard, obviously, when they weren't looking. Talk about crazy. Needless to say, this one would be in my back yard :0) Is that crazy or what? Be on the look out LOL!

Sometimes I get a little bored when people take multiple pics of the same plant. But here I never tire. This one is better than most excellent!

A cross of variety gloriosoides and variety rubrum seems like a no brainer. Compatability should be at its near best. With the hardiness of rubrum and the extasy of gloriosoides, why haven't I ever heard of anyone attempting such a feat? If mine truly are gloriosoides, and if they survive, that will be a personal goal.

Rick

Oh wacky people, fancy admitting to having stolen someone's prized plant!

If it goes missing I shall know where to look!

Found this about tissue culture of this lily. It says normal flowers in the second year, that seems quick, lilyfan you should be in luck.

http://ejournal.sinica.edu.tw/bbas/content/2000/2/bot12-08.pdf

They were used for medicines and became very rare, I think I am lucky! They are also edible.

It was made the mascot flower for the National Science Museum in Taiwan, it's native country

http://www.nmns.edu.tw/nmns_eng/01about/MascotFlower.htm

Well, I have been searching around and found someone who sells the seeds and other species, at the moment sold out , BUT look for the future! I actually had this site in my favourites

http://www.jjaseeds.com/

Leftwood, just read your post, the reason might be it's scarcity, but I did read on an unopenable link that is is slow to propogate.

OMGoodness Wallaby! I speechless!

I am checking out those links now...Just 2 years to flower OH MY! Say prayers I don't kill them before then.

Oh the person who brought up the stolen peony, was NOT the thief, it happened in her grandmother's yard , I believe. The never found out who it was...... So, yes, the person is still out there...... (eerie music playing).....
Oh do I ever want those seeds!

It may or may not be self-fertile. It won't hurt to try anyway. What you can do is... remove some anthers and lay them on a clean piece of paper to dry for a couple of days. Then shake the pollen off into an envelope. Send the envelope to me LOL. Send some to Lefty too. Now why didn't you think of that Lefty?

I can do that with the pollen from the flower that came off, it should be mature enough?

Would it be OK to leave it on the flower for a while longer, until it starts to drop petals at least, then I can take all the anthers off.

Collect the pollen from the buds that open next. Just as the flower is opening. you only need to take one or two anthers from each so as to not spoil the look much (take your pictures first!). Collect and save some pollen for yourself! After it is air dried you can store it in moisture proof containers in the freezer and use it next year if you want. I understand it keeps for a very long time that way. I have seen some hybridizers use those daily pill dispensers (you know, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday etc). I use microcentrifuge tubes. This is the first year I have collected and saved pollen so I am not the voice of experience!

Another half open this morning, I guess that is the best time.

I have some small plastic snap-close envelopes, is plastic OK?

Yes, just make sure you let the pollen air dry for a couple of days or it may turn moldy.

There is a nursery no more than 40 miles from me that sells this. I have already placed a dormant bulb order, but this is a growing plant in a pot.

Their site information on overseas orders isn't complete at the moment, they are re-doing their web site. I do know they send dormant bulbs overseas, the phyto certificate was only £10 and probably still is, it's not long since I looked.

They don't sell growing plants to the USA, but may just be able to supply this bare root when it is dormant. An enquiry is worth the effort if anyone is really eager. If they would agree to do it, a co-operative would split the cost. The bulbs are not huge so postage shouldn't be a fortune.

http://www.pottertons.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=135_248&osCsid=7b816ea59c1fce2554d5cd895fda0526

Pard is good for all sorts of knowledge. Pard how did you figure all of this out? The Amazing Pard.
If there were to be a co-op on this bulb, count me in .