The beautiful Calla. What do you think you know about it? Let's see....
1 Name games.
Most commonly known as callas or calla lilies in the United States, these distinctive flowers of the Zantedeschia genus are also known as arum lilies (primarily in the United Kingdom and Europe); pig lilies (in their native South Africa, where they’re common roadside plants); and trumpet lilies (a reminder of the archangel Gabriel and his trumpet).
2 Mistaken monikers.
Despite their common names, callas are not related to lilies (Lilium); rather, they are members of the Araceae (arum) family, which includes Anthurium, Caladium, Philodendron, Dieffenbachia (dumb cane), Spathiphyllum (peace lily), Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen) and Arisaema (jack-in-the-pulpit).
3 Anatomy lessons.
These elegant flowers are made up of a funnel-shaped spathe (actually a colored petal-like leaf) that surrounds a fleshy spike, called a spadix. The actual “flowers” are the “bumps” on the spadix. Callas’ stems are smooth and leafless. Standard callas have a head size of about 6 inches and stem lengths ranging from about 20 to 48 inches. Miniature callas’ head sizes vary from about 3 to 5 inches, and stem lengths range from about 8 to 20 inches.
4 News about hues.
Standard callas are available in white, white/green variegated (e.g., ‘Green Goddess’) and blush pink (e.g., ‘Diva Maria’). Miniature callas also are available in white as well as a wide variety of yellows, oranges, pinks, reds, lavenders, purples and bicolors. Hues vary depending on growing conditions, so two flowers of the same variety may have slightly different colorations. Think in terms of a “color range”.
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