In 2017, we blogged about our first white-flowered seedling of the South American oxblood lily, that we christened Rhodophiala bifida ‘White Surprise’. Fast forward seven years later, our original still lives, and we now have babies. Five years ago, we self-pollinated the original plant to see if the white trait would come true from seed. This year, our first two seedling flowered, and they are both pure white. Now, that we know this works, we’ll continue the self-pollinating process to build up numbers, so that hopefully, one day, we can share this rare gem. While we’ve seen a photo of a white clone in the wild, found north of Buenos Aires, we’re not aware of this form being in cultivation.
I will look forward to it.
Any other differences compared to the red form? Is it shorter? Are the flowers smaller?
It is smaller and much less vigorous. It seems obvious that in this genus, the red flower color is tied to a trait for vigor.
all white is generally a recessive trait, white seedling times white sibling or white parent should continue to yield white seedlings. Be sure to keep any colored forms well away from the white blooming collection. An early stage hint might work, new seedlings might be pale to white at the base of the leaves . A colored form could well show small streaks of pink or other pigment. Something to look for