The shape of flowers

Daylily varieties with full flowers, as with other forms of flowers, are the products of intensive work by the breeder and without a doubt have their ardent fans. It would seem that the shape of the full daylily flower is always very similar, and that the only differences between the flowers are differences in colour.

The “full” flower, as the name suggests, fills the perianth outside the basic unit with multiple whorls of of petals rising from the bottom of the glass to the top, forming a more or less regular hemisphere in the vertical plane (fig. 12).

Fig.12 Varieties of full daylily flowers

Night Embers

Sundance Truffle

Cardigan Bay

Twice Kissed

However, it appears that the transformation of stamens to extra petals, conditioning the full form of the flower, may also give rise to morphological deviations from the accepted norms (fig.13). It is possible, although rare, to come across triangular forms (a), forms in which the the “full” flower is formed by duplication of the basic elements, building upwards in a storied fashion (b,c), as well as forms responsible for the creation of the double flower (d).

Fig. 13 Various varieties of full / double lily flowers

Pumpkin and Spice (a)

Alternate Universe (b)

Company of Swans (c)

Double Royal Purple (d)

Another, more innovative, method of cultivating full daylily flowers is the construction of a full perianth through a stepwise increase of the number and size of central elements, outside the basic arrangement. The effect of this stepping is illustrated in fig.14, and is shown in the following illustrations, filling the central parts of the flower with additional elements. It is open to debate whether the small shrine created by the central elements (a,b,c), should be classified as part of a typical flower or full flower.

However, it is beyond doubt that the extended number of central elements in the central arrangement constitutes an integrated whole, separate from the basic arrangement, as demonstrated in the variety Whale Of a Truffle (d), representing a new standard in the full daylily category.

Fig.14 Various full flower daylily varieties

Texas Feathered Fancy (a)

Frank’s Cotton Candy (b)

Bonibrae Sharky (c)

Whale of a Truffle (d)