Until I saw
Lilium lancifolium flaviflorum var. immaculatum (and I'm not even sure that's the correct nomenclature!) on the North West Tasmanian Lilium Society seed distribution list I hadn't even imagined it might exist. A tiger without spots? A yellow tiger without spots? Really!? From where? It must have been received from either the RHS Lily Group or NALS seed distributions, both of which the NWTLS participates in. But I hadn't noticed it on either list. I must have missed it... but here it was, on the local list! Could it be real? Ooooohhh.
Well, the NWTLS distribution works a bit like a lottery, to be as fair as possible and share seed around the members. Each member numbers a printed sheet of available seed lots from 1 to whatever, in order of preference. Members names are then drawn from a hat to establish the order in which they will have their preferences allocated. So, the first name drawn from the hat receives their first preference, the next name drawn receives their first or (in the case that that is gone) next highest preference, and so on for as many rounds as it takes to distribute all the preferred seed. As there is generally only one pack of each seed available, this is the most equitable method.
So, this amazing, rare, impossible beast... up for grabs, but up to chance! Such an exciting prospect - I breed 1c and such a beast could make a brilliant contribution... what beauties could those glorious genes release? All I could do was return my sheet with the impossible tiger preferenced 1. And this I did.
Luck was with me and I was thrilled! I received the coveted seeds, planted them with joy and bated anticipation, still dubious; half dis-believing. Tigers of dreams, what would emerge?
Germination was excellent and they steadily grew. When small stems emerged in the second summer they had all the tigerish features one could expect. The fuzzy leaf petioles, furry dark stems, dark lance-shaped (hence the name) leaves... aerial bulbils! Tigers indeed. But the stems were slim... they wouldn't, couldn't flower this summer. I gently pinched the stem tops, feeling for cubs in mama tiger's belly, but certain I felt nothing. Another year of suspense, I thought.
But many produced buds! Singly, in pairs and triplets. I had forgotten how small and slender tiger buds are. Flowers this summer!
I watched the green buds become tinged with yellow... so it could be true! These were definitely yellow tigers. But spots? Spots or no spots? I became rather excited that if 2 out of 3 promises were true that surely the third would eventuate. These must be genuine, true-to-name seed and very soon I would see something beyond imagination. (Had I lacked imagination?
)
But as the days of opening drew closer I thought I could detect spots through the reverse of the sepals. Hmm... I thought, well maybe that's just an impression of where the spots
would be if they didn't lack pigmentation. Hope remained. Until...
Well, I don't think I photographed the first one to open - I must have been disappointed!
Ahh... lovely yellow tigers, but not what the name had promised. After all it was myth and now fixed in imagination, but not reality. Never mind. Flaviflorum was wild. It was new. I picked all the aerial bulbils because they had started to fall, and enjoyed the loveliness. I had still grown a beautiful species. I still had a beautiful spotted tiger to prowl the garden.
Around ten or so of the stems must have produced buds and they opened over a succession of weeks; flowering time being an aspect of the natural variation between seedlings. The first had finished and fallen by the time the buds of the last to flower finally started to colour. I watched it because it was getting late in the season and most asiatics were spent. As it grew more and more yellow, closer and closer to opening, it became more and more exciting.
Could it be? Really?
As it peeled back its petals...
Yes!
It exists! It exists!!! The spotless yellow tiger exists!
So now here are my two tigers, with spots and sans:
In place of flat black spots immaculatum has delicate little self-coloured warts and the shade of yellow is just sublime. Incredible tiger heaven.
