Sternbergia sicula

At the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens
 
Dr Ori Fragman-Sapir (Sept 10, 2006)
Head Scientist
The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens
Giv'at-Ram, 91904
Jerusalem, Israel

Tel. +972-52-4472401, Fax. +972-3-5182842

Please visit our website www.botanic.co.il

Mark Wilcox (11 Oct 2002)

I took this picture of Sternbergia sicula at the top of the mountain on which Acrocorinth sits, near ancient Corinth in the Greek Peloponnese, during a vacation there in October. It was amazing to me to come upon what must be a pocket in the rock into which soil must've formed over time from the accumulation of various plant debris. Then, either man or bird dropped a seed into the hole, which took root and grew into a plant of flowering size.

The picture also shows that S. sicula must be floriferous: 4 flowers past their prime, 1 in bloom (if slightly munched by something), and at least 2 more waiting their turn. If it does this well under unusual conditions, how much better could it do in the garden?

With respect to digital photography, I must say that the yellow in this shot is much more true-to-life than I normally get. Could that be due to the fact that the rest of the picture is basically a neutral gray?

While I saw this plant elsewhere, both in the wild or in what were obviously tended gardens, nowhere else was it as delightfully unexpected as here.

Mark Wilcox (Jan 12, 2003)
Washington, DC

Sir Peter Smithers