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qbirdy

I was told this is a south african plant...

qbirdy
19 years ago

I bought this plant at the local grocery store. Its called a Sunstar on its tag, but no Latin name. The label said it was South African, myself I have no idea if it really is. Last year I got one and it died back and seems dormant. The bulb is solid and we keep hoping it will come back. Can anyone tell me what it is? Any tips on bringing it back? Thanx!

Comments (11)

  • georgeinbandonoregon
    19 years ago

    looks somewhat like ornithogalum dubium---did the tag say anything about care??? this plant needs a dry, cool, dormant period after flowering (in which the leaves die back)---withhold water until the plant begins growth again then water and fertilize. you might consider bringing the dormant plant outside (after the danger of frost is over) and let normal rain and weather conditions help stimulate the plant into growth again.

  • maddy_RSA
    19 years ago

    Hi
    It's Ornithogalum dubium (or a cultivar thereof). It's a winter grower and will have to be kept dry in summer. Start watering the dormant bulbs in autumn and keep them cool but frost free during growth.
    Maddy

  • MarcR
    19 years ago

    Not meaning to be argumentative, I believe it is Ornithogalum maculatum v. splendens. Note the lighter colored blotch at the base of each petal.

  • haweha
    18 years ago

    1) Asking aunt GOOGLE for
    "Ornithogalum maculatum var. splendens"
    was unsuccessfull.
    2) Asking aunt GOOGLE for
    "Ornithogalum maculatum"
    yielded a plant with totaly different growth characteristics
    3) O. dubium is available in different color ranges from pure white, creamy white, yellow, bright and dark orange.
    A differentally colored blotch becomes insignificant in the brightness of this diversification

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ornithogalum maculatum

  • MarcR
    18 years ago

    If I knew how to post a picture I would post O. maculatum v. splendens from Geoff Bryan's 2 volume classic BULBS.

  • deeds1
    18 years ago

    I totally agree with you haweha it's certainly not Ornithogalum maculatum. The plant in the photograph has flowers in a conical raceme, whereas O. maculatum has flowers in a subcorymbose raceme.

    It's worth looking at other structures too and it becomes more likely to be O.dubium.

    I would suggest a more specific book should be tried, one of Peter Goldblatt might help.

  • MarcR
    18 years ago

    You may be right about it being O. dubium; but this is why I thought it is O. maculatum v. splendens.

  • MarcR
    18 years ago

    The above photo of O. maculatum v. splendens, and this enlargement of one blossom are scanned from BULBS by Geoff Bryan

  • deeds1
    18 years ago

    Unfortunately just looking at the flower is not always a very reliable way to identify a species, many, especially South African plants are so closely related that other more specific features have to be taken into account.

    Taxonomists are having a heyday since they learnt how to differentiate species from DNA, and it's a constant battle trying to keep up with the new binomials.

  • faeden
    18 years ago

    The book to which Marc is referring is JOHN (not Geoff) Bryan's book, "Bulbs." I have both the 2-volume and single volume versions. In the picture of O. maculatum v. splendens, there is a definite whitish area around the middle of the flower petals. However, in the above picture what looks like that whitish color on a couple of petals is only a reflection. In addition, the above flowers are orange-yellow and in the O. maculatum v. splendens picture they are orange-red. The above picture is DEFINITELY O. dubium or a cultivar thereof, as stated by maddy and confirmed by others. The picture of O. dubium in Manning, Goldblatt & Snijman's book on bulbs matches the above picture, while the O. maculatum picture does not, and they do not even mention O. maculatum v. splendens.

  • CCathy
    16 years ago

    I just bought this plant at Trader Joes and was looking for info on it. I found your question and then found this one that has it has info on the care etc.
    http://www.billsphotoaday.com/Sun_Star/
    This is a quote from the above site..
    >>
    Sun Stars are a perennial bulb a hybrid of a common cut flower called Ornithogalum.

    "combining the dense floral display and large flowers of Ornithogalum thyrsoides, compact habit of O. multifolium, and intense orange color and short stature of O. dubium." -U.S. National Arboretum

    So it's a bulb that will die back, but will come back the next year.

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