What Is the Relationship Between Lisianthus and Balloon Flower? Understanding the Differences in One Article

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today's closing"Calendar Girl's Big News"segment, Species Calendar original illustrator@Li Liangwill answer the question: How are those beautiful illustrations painted? Is there a tutorial? For more questions, see you in the comments section.

In 1834, the small town of Velasco in the Texas region (now Freeport, Texas) went through a cholera epidemic, leaving only about 100 people alive. Thomas Drummond, a botanist from Scotland, was also struck down by this cholera epidemic. This was his seventh year traveling through the North American wilderness.

Drummond collected several thousand specimens of herbaceous plants and mosses from the prairies and the Rocky Mountains and sent them back to Britain. These specimens were organized by the botanist William Hooker. In the 1820s to 1830s, Hooker persuaded the British government to recommend that botanists join expeditions around the world, and Drummond was one of them. These specimens were enormously helpful to Hooker's academic research, enriching his collection and raising his standing in the scientific community. In 1841, Hooker was appointed director of Kew Gardens.

But Drummond could not celebrate for his sponsor. In February 1835, he died of illness in Havana at the age of only 42. Drummond was one of the countlessplant huntersof the great age of plant discovery who died far from home, but at least he left behind his name, and among the thousands of North American plants he sent back to Britain, one later became one of the most famous cut-flower plants in the world. This islisianthus。

Lisianthus. Image: Andrew Dunn / wikmedia

What Is Your Name?

There are more than 700 species of Gentianaceae plants in the world, and the genus Eustoma accounts for only 1 (or 2 or 3) of them, yet it has had many scientific names.

Lisianthus has frosty blue-green leaves and stems, which is the origin of its earliest genus name Lisianthus, a combination of the ancient Greek words "lysis" and "anthos," the former meaning bitterness and the latter meaning "powder."

In 1838, when this plant discovered by Drummond was first published, it was named Lisianthus russellianus. Later, in order to distinguish it from some South American Gentianaceae plants such as Lisianthus spp., the genus name was changed to the simple and blunt Eustoma. This genus name comes from the ancient Greek eu (good) and stoma (mouth), referring to the lisianthus'swide-opening bell-shaped corollaform.

The genus Eustoma has successively included three species, E. russellianum, E. grandiflorum, and E. exaltatum. E. grandiflorum is sometimes regarded as a synonym of E. russellianum, while E. russellianum is sometimes regarded as a subspecies of E. exaltatum, which is rather confusing. The image shows a scientific illustration from 1838 designated as a subspecies of E. exaltatum. Image: Hooker / wikmedia

Because it is widely distributed across the states of the North American Prairie, one of the most commonly used English names for lisianthus is prairie gentian (prairie gentian). In addition, it is also distributed in the West Indies, Mexico, and Belize. Its natural growing environment is generallymoist grasslandnear rivers and streams, though it can also tolerate saline-alkaline marshes, riverbeds, and coasts.

Lisianthus sown in autumn usuallyblooms at the turn of spring and summerthe following year. Its flower stems are slender and firm, reaching up to 60 cm, with brilliant bell-shaped flowers blooming at the top of the stems, with a flower diameter of more than 5 cm. It can serve as the focal point of summer garden plants and is also suitable for cut-flower displays on various occasions.

Lisianthus in grassland. Image: utexas.edu

What Is Its Relationship to Balloon Flower?

Not long after lisianthus specimens and seeds arrived in Europe, the Glasgow Botanic Garden successfully cultivated flowering plants, which were then introduced to the Netherlands, where the climate is pleasant and suitable for growing flowers. In 1846, large numbers of potted lisianthus appeared at a flower show in Utrecht, the Netherlands. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, lisianthus occupied the commercial catalogs of many flower breeders,with seeds spread throughout the world。

Lisianthus was introduced to Japan before World War II, where it was then called"Turkish balloon flower"(トルコ ききょう), because its unopened buds are spiral-shaped, similar to the large turbans worn by men during the Ottoman Turkish period, and after opening, its flower shape and flower color are somewhat similar to the balloon flower of the Campanulaceae family.

Unopened buds. Image: utexas.edu

Traditional Ottoman men's clothing. Image: Adam Asar / flick

Note the balloon-shaped buds and serrated leaves of the balloon flower. Image: Kurt Stueber / wikmedia

Postwar Japan was the center of lisianthus breeding in the world. In 1967 and 1968, Japanese breeders successively discovered white and pink mutants,laying the foundation for modern lisianthus breeding. In 1982, a Japanese breeding company launched the first batch of F1 hybrids for the first time.

How Do You Grow Lisianthus?

There are many varieties of lisianthus, and they can be said to change with each passing day, with varieties suitable for all kinds of consumers constantly being introduced, from the initial purple single flowers to today's color-changing double-flowered rose-shaped varieties. However, most are still various cut-flower varieties, especially cut-flower varieties propagated by seed,not inferior even to the world's four major cut flowers(the four major cut flowers refer to rose, chrysanthemum, carnation, and gladiolus).

Rose and carnation. Image: Farm & 4028mdk09 / wikmedia

Lisianthus is a relatively easy flower to grow, butsowing is a bit troublesome, because the seeds are really too small and cannot be covered with soil, and moisture must be maintained, so the seeds on the surface are easily washed away. It is best to buy seedlings of dwarf varieties suitable for garden planting and pot cultivation.Dwarf varietieshave shorter flower stems than cut-flower varieties, so they are not prone to lodging, and dwarf varieties have a very strong ability to bloom continuously. As long as spent flowers are removed in time, they can keep blooming into autumn and winter in warm regions.

Lisianthus likes moist soil, a ventilated environment, and full sun, and it also likes fertilizer, but no matter what variety of lisianthus it is,it is very afraid of cold, so it cannot overwinter outdoors in northern regions. Unlike the annual lisianthus in the wild,many lisianthus varieties used for planting are perennial, buy once and benefit for many years。

As usual, here are the lisianthus I have grown myself, respectively a purple double-flowered cut-flower variety, a pink cut-flower variety, and a purple dwarf variety. Image: Shuangtian'e

When we stroll among flowers, enjoying the dazzling array of colors, or hold a bouquet and immerse ourselves in its rich fragrance, we might as well also look back at their history. Thanks to those fearless plant hunters and the unsung breeding workers; the world has become colorful because of their labor, and every flower deserves to be treated with care.

This article is the 232nd article of the 4th year of the Species Calendar, from Species Calendar author @Shuangtian'e.

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