Going from memory here so I probably am going to slaughter a name or two and leave a few out. lol

albomarginata
alismifolia
caput-avis
clausa
erromena
fortunei
glauca
hypoleuca
kikutii
lancifolia
longipes
montana macrophylla (one of the most magnificent hostas ever)
nakaiana
nigrescens
plantaginea
sieboldiana
takiensis
tardiflora
tardiva
tokudama ...hmmm...not 100% pos. on this one...
tortifrons
tsushimensis
undulata
ventricosa
venusta
viridis
yingeri

Here's a link that may be helpful. By the way, 'Tokudama' and 'Sieboldiana' are no longer classified as species...just cultivar status now.

Species Hostas

I flat out love ventricosa. The dark green leaves, the slight twist at the tip, the dark flowers - it's a beauty. It is fertile, which is also nice, and not a slow grower. It really does not like sun, but if you can find a nice shady spot, it will make you smile every time you see it.

thx for the info, don...i wondered about that, couldn't remember.

BTW, I loooooooooove kikutii - what a fabulous hosta...killer leaf shape!! Yingeri is also very nice, great substance!

Don - if I understand the list right, then the only plantaginea that is a "true" species is the one simply named Hosta plantaginea and the others are cultivars? If I were out in a field in China and found what appeared to be a patch of plantaginea that looked different from that described, could it be a variation of plantaginea or would it need to be described as a different species? In fish I have seen such happen where the fish is named, for example, Lamprologus savorii 'Savorii' until an accepted description is made namingit otherwise. In that case L. savorii had been described and then a half dozen other similar fish were found so the H. savorii "Savorii" (note: "n" instead of 'n') was used to dexcribe the original fish until the situation was unraveled. The system is the ssme for identifying all living creatures whether fish or plants.

Isn't this what has been done with apparent variations of H. plantaginea?

I suspect if I want a true species garden I will have to open this "can of worms".

Thanks for the input, and please don't take this as being argumentive. It is simply how my thought process works.

Homo sapiens "Les"

Lamprologus savorii -- is a species name ... all are genetically the same ... [the problem being.. of course.. prior to dna testing nobody could verify such.. and now its cost prohibitive]

Lamprologus savorii 'Savorii' --- would be a 'named' .... hence the quote marks ... SELECTION of said species.. named for some distinct attribute... thereby making it not genetically the same as the species ...

your example with plantiginea... is centered around the 6 inch flowers .. which to my mind is the defining characteristic ... and no seed progeny ... THAT I AM AWARE OF ... holds that trait ...

so if you found a field of them.. and some had the more typical 3 to 4 inch flowers of seedlings .. they would not be plantginea the species ....

that is all i care to know about the international nomenclature rules.. in regard to hosta ...

i am pretty sure George Schmidt has link to all his research at the hosta library ... if i recall .. he has reduced many of the previously thought species to cultivar status ... but its been years since i read up on that stuff.. its not quite the kind of thing you go back and read for enjoyment.. lol ...

ken

ps: are you sure on china for plantiginea??? .. its such a warm zone plant.. i was thinking maybe further south .... or was les just working off the top of his head ... as i usually do.. lol..

Ken - My hair is all gone, by design or Wahl, and thoughts off the top of my head would weigh heavily. When I was trying to ID a hosta given to me recently I was searching in the plantaginea area and read that it was native to China. But I can't remember where I read it. And that was just last week (LOL). Getting old is H---!

Now - what was this thread about?

Les

Ken and Les, plantaginea does indeed come from China. This is what W. George Schmid says about it:

"H. plantaginea occupies a unique position in the genus Hosta. It is native to China and Chinese records indicate it has been cultivated since the Han Dynasty (æ¼¢æ âª 206BC-220AD). The species was once thought to have evolved in Hebei province (æ²³åÂÂ), the general area surrounding Beijing (Ã¥ÂÂ京; BÃÂijëng = northern capital). However, the specific physiological-ecological basics for successful reproduction point further south (see more under Habitat and Biology). H. plantaginea was the first hosta known on the continent of Europe, grown from seeds sent from Macao by French Consul Charles de Guignes before 1784."

"H. plantaginea most likely evolved in the temperate and subtropical lower elevations of southern China. Chinese folklore has a legend that a goddess dropped her hairpin from which this beautiful hosta grew. While not science, it does confirm the presence of and the love for this hosta among Chinese people. Documentation of use as a popular garden plant, as food, as a medicinal herb and as a source for aromatics goes back centuries to the Han Dynasty (æ¼¢æÂÂ; 206 BC�"220 AD)."

Pieter

Thanks Pieter. I found a reference too in the work "Fragrant Hostas" by Tony Avent; "First, it" (H. plantaginea) "is one of the few hosta species that originated in Chine (as opposed to Korea and Japan). Hosta plantaginea is also the southern most naturally occurring hosta species making it more heast resistant than other members of the genus."

This is what some hosta lovers do when it is over 90 outside and so humid you swim to the mailbox instead of walking. I did get out today and bought 'Diana Remembered', a plantaginea progeny via 'Seventh Heaven'(H.'Kevin Vaughn' x H. plantaginea).

Les

Les,

Have you read "The Genus Hosta" by W. George Schmid? Sounds like you would enjoy it. George is considered the foremost expert on species hosta and hosta taxonomy. I understand that he is also going to contribute a forthcoming AHS journal article as an update on his Magnum Opus.

Steve

Steve; No I have not. Thanks for the reference. Libraries are a good place to go at 2pm on a hot, sticky day. I'll go there tomorrow and have them put out a search for it. A while back I had them search for Hostapedia and found it in Ames Iowa. Two days later it was here and I was able to keep it for almost a month. I hated to give it up.

Les