The two Sinningia Waechters

1. The Differences
2. Comparison table

Seeds distributed in 2002 under the name Sinningia sp. "Waechter" turned out to contain two different plant types.

One was the genuine sp. "Waechter", which may someday get the official status as Sinningia arenicola.  This was the plant we saw in 1999, growing on a sandy bank a few dozen meters from the Atlantic Ocean.

The other was the type to which I gave the holding name Sinningia "Desafinado", until its actual status was determined.  As discussed on the Desafinado page, it may be a separate species, a variety of another species, or a primary hybrid between two species.

The Differences

The picture at the right shows some of the differences.  The plant to the left is the real sp. "Waechter", while the plant to the right is the "Desafinado".

Some differences are obvious:

1. Whorled leaves vs. opposite leaves (that is, leaves in three vs. leaves in pairs)
2. Pinkish flower color vs. magenta red
3. Green stalks vs. red
4. Hairy, plain-green leaves vs. wider eumorpha-type leaves

This picture shows the two inflorescences side-by-side (blooming at the end of May 2008).  The main thing to notice, apart from the differences in flower markings and color, is the difference in the flower clusters themselves.

Sinningia sp. "Waechter" (on the left side of the picture) has all the flowers in a terminal cluster, while Sinningia "Desafinado" (on the right side of the picture) has well-defined peduncles.  That is, the flowers in Sinningia sp. "Waechter" have pedicels (flowerstalks) which originate from (or extremely close to) the stem, while those of Sinningia "Desafinado" have pedicels which originate from the ends of "family flowerstalks" (peduncles).

Because you have come to expect a table...

Here is a comparison of the two plants: