Aylostera in bloom

Post by **edds** » Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:39 pm

Some of my seedlings sown in 2020 and now planted three to a 6" BEF pot. I don't like the effect now they've grown more and am thinking of planting them singly in 12cm bowls to grow on.

: A.buiningiana R511

: A.jujuyana

: A.albipilosa FR754

: A.euanthema tilcarensis

Not the greatest photo sorry, trying to show the slightly darker edging and failed to get it ideally in focus.

These are in three different pots but I positioned then to compare the flower colours.

: R.krainziana, Red, Orange and Yellow flowered

All from Southfields over the years. Apparently the red and orange come from the same seed but the yellow is a different seed sowing. I've crossed an orange flower with the yellow to see what happens!

Post by **el48tel** » Thu Jun 01, 2023 6:07 pm

First rate

Post by **ralphrmartin** » Fri Jun 02, 2023 4:53 pm

Good flowers, but I am afraid you have a dodgy name on the first one. The real A. albipilosa is not seen so often, has much finer spines, and a cup shaped flower with a long thin tube.

Here's mine, originally from Stuart many years back.

Post by **edds** » Fri Jun 02, 2023 5:22 pm

Thanks Ralph - I had my doubts after they didn't look like your plant! They were from Koehres Kakteen seed.

Post by **SimonT** » Sat Jun 03, 2023 10:04 am

I have a similar plant to Ed for FR754. I was hoping it would develop more spines over time but so far this
has not happened.

I've been growing some other field numbers for A. albipilosa and some of these are getting a bit closer in appearance to Ralph's plant.
I liked the red flowers against the white spines but so far the flowers I have are more like dark orange. They can look more red once you try to
photograph them of course. So how red are the flowers in your plant Ralph? As you might expect getting thick spines depends upon growing conditions so I've
been trying seedlings in different locations with variable results. It might just take time...

Post by **edds** » Sat Jun 03, 2023 11:25 am

I meant to ask Ralph, what do you think it is? Fiebrigii? Or could it be a hybrid of albipilosa being passed off as the species?

Bought another hybrid Aylostera to add to my modest collection,

: 'Katherine'

Asked for their best darker pink and the sole remaining flower this year certainly fits the bill!

Post by **SimonT** » Sat Jun 03, 2023 12:11 pm

It would be very interesting to hear what Ralph thinks.
I found it a little difficult to "rule out" as an A. albipilosa just looking at the description for this species.
I thought it looked like a bit like A. archibuingiana but then there are a lot of plants that look quite similar to me in the 'fiebrigii complex'!

Post by **ralphrmartin** » Sat Jun 03, 2023 9:25 pm

SimonT wrote: ↑Sat Jun 03, 2023 10:04 am I have a similar plant to Ed for FR754. I was hoping it would develop more spines over time but so far this has not happened.

I've been growing some other field numbers for A. albipilosa and some of these are getting a bit closer in appearance to Ralph's plant.
I liked the red flowers against the white spines but so far the flowers I have are more like dark orange. They can look more red once you try to
photograph them of course. So how red are the flowers in your plant Ralph? As you might expect getting thick spines depends upon growing conditions so I've
been trying seedlings in different locations with variable results. It might just take time...

I have a couple of other plants with different field numbers, too, more like the one in my photo than like Ed's, but to be convincing, the shape of the flower is the most unusual aspect - a very narrow long tube, as in Aylostera heliosa, with an abrupt opening into a bowl.

The colour of the one in my photo is quite strong, a reddish-orange, rather than red, and not at all a pastel shade. As for spines, that's an old photo taken when I lived in Cardiff, and had much worse light. The spines are perhaps a bit longer now, but even with weak light, you can get good results, if you have the right material.

Post by **ralphrmartin** » Sat Jun 03, 2023 9:48 pm

SimonT wrote: ↑Sat Jun 03, 2023 12:11 pm I found it a little difficult to "rule out" as an A. albipilosa just looking at the description for this species.
I thought it looked like a bit like A. archibuingiana but then there are a lot of plants that look quite similar to me in the 'fiebrigii complex'!

I agree, the spination is somewhat like a white A. archibuingiana - but the flower is different.

Frankly the naming of Aylosteras and Rebutias is a nightmare. Too many names for dubiously different things (even for just flower colour), lumping of things which grow together without interbreeding, extra names made up to sell plants, and so on.

Just like the Canary Islands have their own subtly different plants, the mountains in the Andes are often isolated patches of suitable habitat, with their own populations evolving without exchanging genes very often with neighbouring populations. The whole concept of species doesn't work too well here - it is a human concept used to bring order to what we find in nature, and this is one of the cases where it doesn't work so well.

While hybridisation is often blamed for not getting what one expects, I am not convinced it is as common as people tend to think. For example, some of these plants are self fertile, and others self sterile, but I very rarely find seed pods on the self-sterile ones - implying few insects cross-fertilising things too. When I find volunteer seedlings growing under a parent Aylostera, it is quite rare for them to look different to the parent (at least, when mature). Most seed suppliers take care to avoid hybrids - particularly suppliers of seed with field numbers.

There are many other possible causes, too. Misidentification by the original collector of the material, label mix ups, deliberate or accidental substitution by a nurseryman, - and even the original plant may have been a sport, which may not come true from seed.