The Crinum show continues without interruption as 'Peachblow' has passed the torch to 'Carnival'. 'Carnival' often shows random white stripes on its reddish flowers and for this reason it has been described as a chimera by several authors, but unless genetic tests have been performed this claim is dubious. The flowers in these photographs aren't showing that characteristic much, but are showing subtle darker striping on the keels. It is a large plant with foliage that's very broad at the base, tapering rapidly to a fine point. It is not the tidiest Crinum because its foliage can be floppy, but this flaw tends to be more pronounced on younger bulbs, with larger bulbs having more rigid foliage and better structure.
2 comments:
Carnival is probably my favorite crinum of the 250, or so, varieties that I grow. Here in NE FL, zone 9, they start blooming in early April and go for a couple of months. Unlike many crinum that open sequentially, most of these buds open within about 2 days. Since I have about 7 blooming-size bulbs all in a row, that all put up multiple scapes, it can be quite a show. As Jay mentioned, these can have very interesting, and strikingly beautiful, random white streaks in the flowers. It's unusual to get flowers without some white streaks.
Thanks for the comment, Nestor. You're right about 'Carnival' flowers all opening over a short period. The umbel of flowers also displays radial symmetry, unlike many Crinum where the flowers face mostly the same direction. This morning I found one flower in the umbel with subtle white variegaton on the petals at the 9:00 and 11:00 positions. Here's a link.
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