callas

From: Tony Avent tony at plantdel.com> on 2000.11.07 at 15:42:17(5638) Dear Aroiders: Has anyone heard of a Zantedeschia aethiopica var. minor or cv. 'Minor'. We picked up this genetic dwarf in California, but am having no luck in tracking down the origin of this name. Any ideas? Tony Avent +More Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdel.com website http://www.plantdel.com phone 919 772-4794 fax 919 662-0370 "I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent

From: "George R Stilwell, Jr." grsjr at juno.com> on 2000.11.07 at 20:08:49(5648) Tony, I have both of Singh's papers and Letty's Paper. I don't remember seeing a reference to +More Zantedeschia aethiopica var. minor or cv. 'Minor', but I wasn't really looking for it. It'll take a while, but I could look again. Z. have so many cultivar names I can't keep up with them. I've tried to keep a list of every one I come across. 'Minor' is not in the list. Do you have the papers listed below? Ray GRSJr@Juno.com Letty, . 1973. The genus Zantedeschia. Bothalia 11: 5-26. Singh, Y., Van Wyk, A.E. & Baijnath, H. 1996. Taxonomic notes on the genus Zantedeschia Spreng. (Araceae) in southern Africa. S. Af. J. Bot. 62(6): 321-324. Singh, Y., Van Wyk, A.E. & Baijnath, H. 1995. Know your arums: a comprehensive guide to the genus Zantedeschia. Veld Flora 81: 54-55. ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

From: Tony Avent tony at plantdel.com> on 2000.11.08 at 15:55:57(5656) Ray: I have not seen Singh's or Letty's papers. Petra referred me to Exotica, which uses the name Zanthedeschia aethiopica minor in synonomy with Z. 'Little Gem'. This is great start...now if I could only find the origin of the plant, and if Z. a. minor is a valid variety or subspecies. Tony Avent +More Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdel.com website http://www.plantdel.com phone 919 772-4794 fax 919 662-0370 "I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent

From: "George R Stilwell, Jr." grsjr at juno.com> on 2000.11.09 at 15:23:41(5657) Tony, Letty does a complete revision of the genus. Many old names are referred to all the way back to pre-linnaean names. She says," Zantedeschia aethiopica var. minor Engl. in +More Pflanzenr. 4, 23 Dc: 63 (1915). Type based on Gard. Chron. 27: 755, fig. 153 (1890) of Z. aethiopica "Little Gem" -- var. umganiensis Leicht. & Engl. in Pflanzenr. 4, 23 Dc: 64 (1915). Type: Natal, Howick Falls, 1899, Nelson. However, it is never mentioned again even in the Natal section under aethiopica. She does say that hybrids of aethiopica are seldom if ever found in the wild because of the geographic separation from other species. The variety is not included in her Key. But the genus was revised again by Singh and later he added a new species. Itt's the latest revision. Z. aethiopica is not mentioned in the second paper where he deals with the Z. albomaculata complex leading to the recognition of Z. valida as a species. The earlier Singh paper is a graphic Key and guide to the species complete with leaf shape silhouettes and color photos of the plants. No mention is made of vars. He does offer these references: The Letty which I mentioned before. Muller, T. 1993. New Zealand callas grown for the worlds great floral artists: statistics update. Calla News 9, 37-38. Perry, P.L. 1989. A new species of Zantedeschia from the western Cape. S.A.J.of Bot. 55 (4), 447-51. L.H. Bailey, in the Cyclopedia, says: Z. aethiopica var. minor, Eng. (Richardia nana compacta) 'Little Gem' (fig. 4031) Like the type, but only 1--16 inches high; spathes 3-4 in. long. Var. devoniensis. (R. devoniensis), Dwarf; freer bloomer than 'Little Gem' and more fragrant. There are a number of hort names that are latin - and he names a few. There's also Z. aethiopica 'Childsiana' which is described in Hortus III as dwarf and very floriferous. It's available from Oregon Bulbs. But they were out of them when we ordered last spring. Not much help, but a bit here and there. Ray GRSJr@Juno.com ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

From: Tony Avent tony at plantdel.com> on 2000.11.10 at 04:34:47(5660) Ray: This helps quite a bit. I am curious why more of the Zantedeschia aethiopica cultivars are not still being grown, other than the common Z. 'Green Goddess' Z. 'Childsiana', and the new Z 'Marshmallow'. Recently, I had the opportunity to look through some of Luther Burbank's old books, and there were color photos of three variegated leaf cultivars of Zantedeschia aethiopica that he was growing. So where are these plants now? Tony Avent +More Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdel.com website http://www.plantdel.com phone 919 772-4794 fax 919 662-0370 "I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent

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