Does the color of the anthers matter? Are they different because they are older, more mature, have different nutrients or what? I don't know a lot about daylilies except that they are gorgeous and I love them.
I have some Elizabeth Salter daylilies that are light sherbet in color with light anthers (I think that's what they are called) but I also have some that are a more vivid yellow/orange color with black anthers. Although I have some of each in direct sunlight and some of each in dappled shade I can always tell the difference between them because of the anther color and the flower shade. To my knowledge, these were all from the same original plant but I wonder if somehow I have another unknown daylily. I have added the bottom photo to the generic daylily parent gallery.

A great question, Mary Jane. I have some daylilies that have shown different bloom characteristics on scapes in the same clump, as well as different colors and eye shapes on the same scape. So I think it is possible for daylilies to expresses their genetics in different ways through earlier and later fans or blooms, whether in the stamen, anthers, or by some other readily identifiable variance.

Here is the one I have with consistently different shapes between fans in the same clump, and eye shapes on the same scape. The sometimes square tip on the petal/s, and differently shaped eyes, can be seen from various other's photos in the database entry for it; Savannah Royalty:



Another daylily I have that produced different base colors in each of its blooms from a single scape, one each of lavender, pink, yellow and cream:



Of course, it is always possible you have another cultivar mixed in when there are differences. But, there are also others who seem to have different colors showing on Elisabeth Salter fans from various different gardens, so it is possible it does age or perform with variations that show up, similar to what you have documented:

Dark Anthers, Yellow/Orange range of colors, Light Anthers and flower colors


I'm so glad you've uploaded the picture of your daylily to the database - always great to have them - and whenever there is doubt, the generic daylily page is a good place to start.

Some daylilies, like 'Mary's Gold', have black anthers. I consider it distinctive - sort of like a "beauty mark", but better.

I also like the "rainbow" stamen on some, like Nile Jewel ....

maryjane said:Does the color of the anthers matter? Are they different because they are older, more mature, have different nutrients or what? I don't know a lot about daylilies except that they are gorgeous and I love them.
I have some Elizabeth Salter daylilies that are light sherbet in color with light anthers (I think that's what they are called) but I also have some that are a more vivid yellow/orange color with black anthers. Although I have some of each in direct sunlight and some of each in dappled shade I can always tell the difference between them because of the anther color and the flower shade. To my knowledge, these were all from the same original plant but I wonder if somehow I have another unknown daylily. I have added the bottom photo to the generic daylily parent gallery.

• Daylilies (Hemerocallis)
• Uploaded by maryjane

I don't know why some anthers are light or white backed but I have many cvs with them. No worry though because there's nothing wrong with your daylilies that have them.

I forgot to mention... To answer your unspoken question, those are almost certainly different daylilies. Black anthers are genetic. (Not to mention the difference in flower color, shape, ruffling.)

I suppose it is possible, to follow-up on Polymerous' idea, that there are a mix of different ES fans that have made their way around the country, too. The range of color, shape, ruffling and stamen/anthers of that cultivar that closely match your two are all seen together at:

Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter')

Lots of other shades than just "pink," as the hybridizer states, showing up everywhere for sure.

Just ran out real quick and took some photos. I only have 12 in bloom today and 3 have white backed anthers.

Song of the Empire.


Carrot Cake.


Pink Promenade.

Last year, I had Hampshire Hoyden do something similar. During the 6 months or so that it was in bloom, it mostly looked like this:

However, during one cycle, all of the flowers looked like this:

Definitely the same plant (it lives in a pot) - just very different looking blooms.

Great answers one and all! I'm exploring more information by requesting a copy of the AHS Encyclopedia of Plants from my library. I found the pages from the book on the internet but could not copy and the print was too small to read. There is a section in there that discusses black anthers in various plants with a listing of daylilies that have this distinction. If I find some specific answer, I will post it.

Would love to see a follow-up, Mary Jane, if AHS's Encyclopedia has a specific list of daylilies like this. Like many of us here, I share OldGardener's and others' growing comfort level in expecting the unexpected, being open to many possible answers, and enjoying the great kaleidoscope of things that appear after so many generations of hybridization between species. Thanks so much for sharing your photos, and creating this interesting discussion.

Ooops ... hit reply again by accident, sorry!

So much for expecting an encyclopedia to answer my question. The book came from the library today and it is a wonderful reference of plants and flowers. It is almost 800 pages (heavy book) showing photos of all kinds of plants and flowers with a section of information on each type. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could find (so far) regarding anthers and their color, etc. so I guess it remains a mystery. I am happy to enjoy my "unknowns". It allows me the freedom to name them whatever I want as long as it's not a registered name. If I give them or sell them, they can be labeled unknown. If they are pretty, who cares?

Indeed! And they are lovely!