An evaluation of bulb growth and structure of Lachenalia cv. Ronina bulbs

Abstract

Lachenalia species are mainly winter and spring flowering bulbous plants endemic to South Africa and Namibia and representatives of the Hyacinthaceae. The annual growth cycle of most species is characterised by active leaf growth during autumn, flowering during winter or spring, followed by leaf senescence and a dormant period during the hot dry summer. Being a fairly new introduction to the flower market, there is a demand for high quality, marketable size bulbs, but due to the lack of information regarding bulb growth and structure, there is a great need for further research. The plants normally have a typical rhythmic, sympodial, modular growth. At the time of planting the bulbs consisted of a swollen bulb scale (cataphyll) and two swollen leaf bases (euphyll) of the previous module surrounding the initials of the new module consisting of two cataphylls, two euphyll primordia and an inflorescence primordium. No 'supernumery bulblets' were observed in this cultivar, but at the end of the growing cycle daughter bulbs were detected in the axils of the swollen leaf bases.