Burbank on the Brodiaeas and thier kin. Anothe project?
Jan 30, 2014 6:13:40 GMT -5
agrorev likes this
Post by Graham on Jan 30, 2014 6:13:40 GMT -5
The passages to follow are an extracts from the same Burbanks article as in the Camas thread (you can find the source here). And it would seem the Brodiaea would make an interesting project for someone. Any takers?
There are twenty or more species of plants belonging to the lily family wild along the Pacific Coast that make up a group which the botanist classifies under the generic name Brodiaea.
There are allied plants in South America, regarding the precise classification of which there is some difference of opinion. But for the purpose of the horticulturist the entire group may be ranked under the name of Brodiaea. The plants have not been extensively cultivated until recently, and they have received no popular name.
The different species vary greatly in form, size, and arrangement of the flower. The color of the flower is usually either blue or rose or purple, though sometimes white. There is also a crimsonflowered climbing species, known as Brodiaea volubilis, which somewhat rarely becomes white.
CROSSING THE BRODIAES
I have crossed this climbing species with the species known as Brodiaea capitata, and with various others. Some of these crosses produce most beautiful flowers intermediate between the parents. Unfortunately the best hybrids were destroyed by gophers before I had opportunity to save the seed. The interest of the brodiaeas in the present connection hinges on the fact that the plants have bulbs or corms that when cooked are very acceptable as food. Several of the species, especially the Brodiaea lactea, are relished by the Indians, and are often dug and eaten by children. The bulbs of some species contain a very high percentage of starch, probably greater than that of the potato.
I have worked on the Brodiaea lactea to increase the size of the bulbs. When growing wild the bulbs are only about half an inch in diameter. By selective breeding, varieties have been originated that will produce bulbs two inches or more in diameter. The plants can be grown almost as thickly as lawn grass, and it is probable that the yield per acre of the bulbs could be made to equal a good crop of potatoes.
In developing the brodiaea for this purpose, it would be well to search carefully for bulbs that grow to unusual size in the wild state—there is considerable variation in this regard.
The brodiaea is well worth cultivating for its flowers alone, and it would appear that the plant offers possibilities of combining flower-production with the production of a valuable food. Unfortunately, however, there is a complementary relation between the seed and the bulbs, and in order to secure bulbs of the largest size, it is necessary to remove the seed stalk before blossoming time.
Whether cultivated for flowers or for bulbs, the brodiaeas are very interesting plants that give great promise of improvement under the hands of some careful experimenter.
It is a little difficult to cross them. I have produced many hybrids, however, and it is said that occasional hybrids are found where two wild species are growing in the same neighbourhood. They all bear seed abundantly, though it takes three, four, or even five years from seed before they bloom.
They grow by thousands on each square yard of ground, appearing almost as thick as grass on a well-kept lawn.
In the same species there is a good deal of variation in the form and size of the flower. On the heights of the Sierras, the Brodiaea lactea grows only a few inches high, whereas in the valleys it grows to a height of eighteen inches or two feet.
Along the alluvial creek banks Brodiaea Laxa grows very large and tall, with handsome clusters, while on the mountain sides it is dwarfed.
Even plants of the same species in the same locality vary widely as to size of flower.
Brodiaea capitata grows abundantly along the roadsides, and especially in grain fields. It blooms and produces seed before the grain is cut. Brodiaea terrestris has a stem so short that the flowers almost rest on the ground. The blossom is just the colour of a blue violet, and the clusters may be mistaken for violets at a little distance.
In other localities the Brodiaea terrestris bears flowers some of which have a white stripe. Sometimes half the blossom may be white, the other part deep blue. Sometimes five or six blossoms will be blue, and a single one white. In other cases the proportions are reversed.
I have not observed any in the wild state that could be called pure white, but by cultivation and selection pure white varieties have been produced.
I have worked extensively on the Brodiaea capitata, the species just mentioned as growing in the wheat fields. On a poor dry soil this plant grows about two feet in height, and on long, straight, slender, wiry stems. But on good soil, especially in the wheat fields, it sometimes grows to the height of three or four feet, or even more, bearing a much larger cluster of blossoms.
In looking over a field of brodiaeas of this species, one may expect to find one in ten thousand, or perhaps one in twenty thousand that is almost white. Seedlings raised from these produce a variety of flowers, white, pale or dark blue, and striped; with a constant tendency to revert to the blue when first taken under cultivation.
By selection and re-selection I have produced strains which invariably come white, and by the same process have produced varieties with flowers twice as large as the ordinary, also making the flower-head larger, and the plant a much more rapid multiplier from the bulbs.
From all this it will appear that the brodiaea is a very interesting plant. As already suggested, it well deserves the attention of some careful experimenter, who might develop certain strains for flowers and others for bulbs. Plants that are of interest both to the lover of flowers and to the vegetable gardener have exceptional claims on the plant developer.
OTHER NEGLECTED LILIES
There are two allied tribes of plants known as Bloomeria and Brevoortia, respectively, that are closely related to the brodiaea, and each of which is of interest .
The brevoortia is usually called the Floral Firecracker, from its green, crimson, and yellow flowers. I have grown these plants extensively from seed, to produce new varieties, but the experiments were carried out only to the extent of increasing the yellow and crimson colours.
I have grown the Bloomeria aurea extensively, and have made minor improvements in it through selection. The plant has a bulb like the brodiaea, growing deep in the earth in dry, sandy places. In the wild state the stalks vary in height, and there is also a slight variation in the colour of the flower. So there is opportunity for selective breeding. Moreover, I judge from physiological characteristics that the plant should cross readily with the brodiaea, although I have not attempted to make the cross.
It is almost certain that improved varieties might be obtained by hybridization.
There is a bulbous plant called Alstroemeria, that is botanically related to the Amaryllis rather than to the true lilies, which offers possibilities of tuber improvement. The plants are natives of Western South America. I grew seedlings and hybrids by the ten thousand for several years, and became convinced that if the roots and tops could be taught to grow in a more compact form this would become a very popular flower, and perhaps also a very valuable food plant, as the roots are sometimes eaten and are quite palatable and nutritious. I have worked on the species known as A. Chilensis, A. pulchella, and A. Brasiliense, and subsequently on a large number of new species from Chile.
A great variety of colours and combinations occur in the hybrid forms that may be fixed by selection. I am endeavouring to obtain a more hardy strain with improved flowers and more compact growth.
At one time I crossed plants of this genus with the California lily (Lilium pardalinum) and had several hybrids, but the root and the bulb did not make a good combination. The plants bloomed one year, then died. The hybrid blossom was smaller than that of the lily, and it resembled that of both parents in being speckled and in its combination of colours. The hybrids that blossomed produced no seed.
The long, slender, white tubers of the Alstroemeria Chilensis are edible. This plant grows in very dry soil, and is peculiarly adapted to some of the California soils and climates. It is at present too tender for growth in the Eastern United States, but it is possible that through hybridization and selection it may be rendered hardy, and in that event this may become a valuable garden vegetable.
Luther Burbank on Brodiaea
There are twenty or more species of plants belonging to the lily family wild along the Pacific Coast that make up a group which the botanist classifies under the generic name Brodiaea.
There are allied plants in South America, regarding the precise classification of which there is some difference of opinion. But for the purpose of the horticulturist the entire group may be ranked under the name of Brodiaea. The plants have not been extensively cultivated until recently, and they have received no popular name.
The different species vary greatly in form, size, and arrangement of the flower. The color of the flower is usually either blue or rose or purple, though sometimes white. There is also a crimsonflowered climbing species, known as Brodiaea volubilis, which somewhat rarely becomes white.
CROSSING THE BRODIAES
I have crossed this climbing species with the species known as Brodiaea capitata, and with various others. Some of these crosses produce most beautiful flowers intermediate between the parents. Unfortunately the best hybrids were destroyed by gophers before I had opportunity to save the seed. The interest of the brodiaeas in the present connection hinges on the fact that the plants have bulbs or corms that when cooked are very acceptable as food. Several of the species, especially the Brodiaea lactea, are relished by the Indians, and are often dug and eaten by children. The bulbs of some species contain a very high percentage of starch, probably greater than that of the potato.
I have worked on the Brodiaea lactea to increase the size of the bulbs. When growing wild the bulbs are only about half an inch in diameter. By selective breeding, varieties have been originated that will produce bulbs two inches or more in diameter. The plants can be grown almost as thickly as lawn grass, and it is probable that the yield per acre of the bulbs could be made to equal a good crop of potatoes.
In developing the brodiaea for this purpose, it would be well to search carefully for bulbs that grow to unusual size in the wild state—there is considerable variation in this regard.
The brodiaea is well worth cultivating for its flowers alone, and it would appear that the plant offers possibilities of combining flower-production with the production of a valuable food. Unfortunately, however, there is a complementary relation between the seed and the bulbs, and in order to secure bulbs of the largest size, it is necessary to remove the seed stalk before blossoming time.
Whether cultivated for flowers or for bulbs, the brodiaeas are very interesting plants that give great promise of improvement under the hands of some careful experimenter.
It is a little difficult to cross them. I have produced many hybrids, however, and it is said that occasional hybrids are found where two wild species are growing in the same neighbourhood. They all bear seed abundantly, though it takes three, four, or even five years from seed before they bloom.
They grow by thousands on each square yard of ground, appearing almost as thick as grass on a well-kept lawn.
In the same species there is a good deal of variation in the form and size of the flower. On the heights of the Sierras, the Brodiaea lactea grows only a few inches high, whereas in the valleys it grows to a height of eighteen inches or two feet.
Along the alluvial creek banks Brodiaea Laxa grows very large and tall, with handsome clusters, while on the mountain sides it is dwarfed.
Even plants of the same species in the same locality vary widely as to size of flower.
Brodiaea capitata grows abundantly along the roadsides, and especially in grain fields. It blooms and produces seed before the grain is cut. Brodiaea terrestris has a stem so short that the flowers almost rest on the ground. The blossom is just the colour of a blue violet, and the clusters may be mistaken for violets at a little distance.
In other localities the Brodiaea terrestris bears flowers some of which have a white stripe. Sometimes half the blossom may be white, the other part deep blue. Sometimes five or six blossoms will be blue, and a single one white. In other cases the proportions are reversed.
I have not observed any in the wild state that could be called pure white, but by cultivation and selection pure white varieties have been produced.
I have worked extensively on the Brodiaea capitata, the species just mentioned as growing in the wheat fields. On a poor dry soil this plant grows about two feet in height, and on long, straight, slender, wiry stems. But on good soil, especially in the wheat fields, it sometimes grows to the height of three or four feet, or even more, bearing a much larger cluster of blossoms.
In looking over a field of brodiaeas of this species, one may expect to find one in ten thousand, or perhaps one in twenty thousand that is almost white. Seedlings raised from these produce a variety of flowers, white, pale or dark blue, and striped; with a constant tendency to revert to the blue when first taken under cultivation.
By selection and re-selection I have produced strains which invariably come white, and by the same process have produced varieties with flowers twice as large as the ordinary, also making the flower-head larger, and the plant a much more rapid multiplier from the bulbs.
From all this it will appear that the brodiaea is a very interesting plant. As already suggested, it well deserves the attention of some careful experimenter, who might develop certain strains for flowers and others for bulbs. Plants that are of interest both to the lover of flowers and to the vegetable gardener have exceptional claims on the plant developer.
OTHER NEGLECTED LILIES
There are two allied tribes of plants known as Bloomeria and Brevoortia, respectively, that are closely related to the brodiaea, and each of which is of interest .
The brevoortia is usually called the Floral Firecracker, from its green, crimson, and yellow flowers. I have grown these plants extensively from seed, to produce new varieties, but the experiments were carried out only to the extent of increasing the yellow and crimson colours.
I have grown the Bloomeria aurea extensively, and have made minor improvements in it through selection. The plant has a bulb like the brodiaea, growing deep in the earth in dry, sandy places. In the wild state the stalks vary in height, and there is also a slight variation in the colour of the flower. So there is opportunity for selective breeding. Moreover, I judge from physiological characteristics that the plant should cross readily with the brodiaea, although I have not attempted to make the cross.
It is almost certain that improved varieties might be obtained by hybridization.
There is a bulbous plant called Alstroemeria, that is botanically related to the Amaryllis rather than to the true lilies, which offers possibilities of tuber improvement. The plants are natives of Western South America. I grew seedlings and hybrids by the ten thousand for several years, and became convinced that if the roots and tops could be taught to grow in a more compact form this would become a very popular flower, and perhaps also a very valuable food plant, as the roots are sometimes eaten and are quite palatable and nutritious. I have worked on the species known as A. Chilensis, A. pulchella, and A. Brasiliense, and subsequently on a large number of new species from Chile.
A great variety of colours and combinations occur in the hybrid forms that may be fixed by selection. I am endeavouring to obtain a more hardy strain with improved flowers and more compact growth.
At one time I crossed plants of this genus with the California lily (Lilium pardalinum) and had several hybrids, but the root and the bulb did not make a good combination. The plants bloomed one year, then died. The hybrid blossom was smaller than that of the lily, and it resembled that of both parents in being speckled and in its combination of colours. The hybrids that blossomed produced no seed.
The long, slender, white tubers of the Alstroemeria Chilensis are edible. This plant grows in very dry soil, and is peculiarly adapted to some of the California soils and climates. It is at present too tender for growth in the Eastern United States, but it is possible that through hybridization and selection it may be rendered hardy, and in that event this may become a valuable garden vegetable.
