Re: Plants, probably not mediterranear, but I figure you guys may know the answer.

Sue McNeill wrote:

> Does anyone know how big Delostoma lobbii gets.  I couldn't find it in
> any of my plant books and after searching the internet I discovered it
> was a tree, loved by hummingbirds, but no indication of its ultimate size.

Sue,

The Quechua name for Delostoma lobbii is "pichus".  This brief squib says it
is a shrub or tree 2-6 meters high, growing in Andean valleys of southern
Ecuador and Peru at an altitude of 1500-3000 meters:

http://www.sacha.org/famil/a_to_m/bignoni.htm

Here is another picture of the blossom:

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/MEMBGNewsletter/Volume3number3/b0530tx.html

here is still another good shot of the flowers:

http://mobot.mobot.org/cgi-bin/search_vast?w3till=MOA-00910_001.jpg

It is a typical hummingbird flower in every respect, but I suspect its long
tube is a bit too long for our North American species to exploit.  I have
found this true of Pyrostegia venusta, which is also considered a good
hummingbird flower in it native homeland.  Many of the tropical hummers have
much longer bills.

John MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9   Sunset zones 21/23
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