Cypella herbertii

Cypella herbertii

William Herbert was a British botanist, illustrator and Poet, He is probably best known for some of his early treatments of the Amaryllidacea, but also published works on Crocus. John Lindley the very well known botanist who studied with Hooker and Banks, named this species for Herbert, who should be more widely known for his contribution to the study of flower bulbs.
It's a wonderful,easy and long blooming plant, these are only three years from seed and they seem to just bloom through the season all the way up to frost. I dug this clump and overwintered it in my unheated barn, in an aquatic plant basket filled with sawdust. It never got watered from November until late March and the foliage only started to wither and turn brown in the later part of Feburary. The range seems to be "almost totally confined to complex of grasslands ecosystems of Río de La Plata, the most extensive area of grasslands in Southeastern South America" to quote the work THE TYPE OF CYPELLA HERBERTII SUBSP. BREVICRISTATA RAVENNA (IRIDACEAE: TIGRIDIEAE)1 LEONARDO PAZ DEBLE2 , FABIANO DA SILVA ALVES3, Which deals with a subspecies but contains a wealth of information on the genus itself.

Sunny and Warm, as was most of May. We saw a few sprinkles move through this weekend, but it was also in the 80's for a portion of it. Looks like it might be a hot summer if this spring was an indicator. 

Might be slowing down on the bulb posts for a bit, as I have a bumper Cherry crop to harvest in between some much needed botanical explorations. I'll keep updating on the status of the bulb catalog as I get closer to the harvest window. 

Cheers,

Mark