Help me understand vein pairs

3 years ago

I read about them in the database.....but I don’t understand how to count them...... I don’t understand whether the number always has to be exact or can it vary a bit....... what is the best age and or time of year to count them....... so many questions!!

Featured Answer

bkay2000

3 years ago

I was mistaken. The hostaregistrar.org site does not always include the vein pairs. It seems to vary. The registration for h. Dancing Queen does not include vein count. However, just as a check, I checked for that information on h. So Sweet, and it includes vein count although it doesn't match my two. (HR says 4, both of mine have 6)

ken may be right about it varying too much to be definitive. However, I still think it helps with eliminating some hosta names when searching for an ID.

This is h. Irish Luck. The HR does not have a vein count listed. However, Myhostas.be says it's 9 to 10. It is a mature plant.

This is h. Anne, which was labeled as h. Karin. I believe this is a reversion to h. Anne. Either way, the vein count is reported by both the hosta registrar and myhostas.be to be 8. I purchased it this spring.

Now you know how to count vein pairs. Note that the vein closest to the edge is sometimes easy to miss.

bkay

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Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
they need to be counted on mature plants.. else they are variable ...

i never gave much credence to the stat ... since its so variable ...

it fun to count.. its fun to talk about it ... but really.. you cant make an ID on such ...

ken
djacob Z6a SE WI thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
bkay2000
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Yes, they vary, especially on young plants. However, most sites that give you vein pairs as a description note that variation, such as 9 to 11 vein pairs. It is one of the identifying facts that is included on a hosta registration.

It's easier to count them from the back of the leaf. Basically, you count the veins on one side of the leaf, (don't count the center). Usually, there is one vein really close to the outside ege that is faint.

I'll take some photos of some leaves and see if a "picture is worth a 1000 words" is really true.

You had asked about how to use the hostaregistrar.org site. The only part I ever use is the search function, but will "bone up" on it and see if I can help.

bkay
djacob Z6a SE WI thanked bkay2000
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liquidfeet Z6 Boston
3 years ago
I was going to ask this very question today. So glad you did it, djacobz. I bought an unlabeled yellow hosta late last season on sale and figured why not try to get its ID using that database. The telling part was going to be the vein pairs. Dancing Queen is my best guess. It's supposed to have 11 vein pairs. My plant got divided by me into five plants, so what I have is definitely not mature. barely-unfurled leaves have 9-10, and larger more mature leaves have 10 pair. I haven't found a leaf with 11 pair yet, but I sure think this plant is Dancing Queen. It's good to know there is variance.
djacob Z6a SE WI thanked liquidfeet Z6 Boston
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
3 years ago
Great diagrams and information bkay!

"It's easier to count them from the back of the leaf." bkay said. So here is a photo of the back of a blue hosta. Easier to see from underneath and against the sky? Taking a photo could help too.
djacob Z6a SE WI thanked newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
liquidfeet Z6 Boston
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Here's some info from MyHostas about Dancing Queen. I found this from using the search function. It indicates 11 vein pairs.
djacob Z6a SE WI thanked liquidfeet Z6 Boston
ctopher_mi
3 years ago
Like you guys said, vein pair count doesn't really mean anything unless you are comparing mature plant to mature plant. Vein spacing would be a better measure, or better yet vein ratio in comparison to the leaf width as the latter might be similar in a young plant and a mature plant of the same variety.

But whatever, vein pair doesn't really help that much, and can't really be used for an ID unless it is extremely different and the plant is somewhat mature.
djacob Z6a SE WI thanked ctopher_mi
djacob Z6a SE WI
Original Author
3 years ago
Everyone, thanks for your explainations. Bkay, your picture with the numbers was most helpful, I will save this for future use!! Thanks!