Bridgesii
Lotusland
Grown hereWell documentedLotusland is a semi-monstrose Bolivian torch whose ribs run irregular, fuse and smooth over, giving the melted-wax look the is known for. stays the usual blue-green, while spines come and go along the stem. It is the plant most growers mean when they say melted wax without naming a clone, since the other melty lines have their own names. The link to the Californian garden it shares a name with is described as likely, not proven.Reported by 3 independent sources; we have not seen it ourselves.
- melted ribs
- semi-monstrose
- blue-green
- patchy spines
At a glance
Species
Parents
No source names a mother or a father for this one.
Origin
no source says whether it is seed-grown or a cutting line
In the yard
none cut for sale right now
Family line
No source in this library records a cross for Lotusland. Nobody names a mother or a father for it, and no other entry here names it as a parent.
The longer version
Species, as our sources record it: semi-monstrose bridgesii.Reported by 3 independent sources; we have not seen it ourselves.
It has travelled well beyond there, with established plants documented in Australia.Too little stands behind this for us to confirm it.
One grower states that when people say melted wax without naming a clone, this is the one they mean, because the other melty bridgesii lines carry their own names, among them Sina, Bruce, Wowie and RS005.Too little stands behind this for us to confirm it.
A Californian nursery selling the clone names the Montecito garden in full and says the plant came from it, calling this the original melted-wax bridgesii. The wiki page offers the link to that garden as likely rather than established, so this is a second source stating what the first would only suggest — from a seller, which is interested evidence about origin and good evidence that the name and the garden travel together.Reported by 2 independent sources; we have not seen it ourselves.
Where the name comes from
The clone is associated with California and is thought to be named after the Lotusland garden at Montecito, near Santa Barbara.Reported by 2 independent sources; we have not seen it ourselves.
Character
Not documented yet.
- nearly smooth to heavily spined: this one leans towards heavily spined, read from the spines line below.
Not documented yet.
- Ribs
- Tips sometimes carry only a few ribs.Checked and judged by our house botanist; no outside source states it. Rib number is unstable at growing tips, so occasional few-ribbed tips are entirely plausible.
- Spines
- Spines are inconsistent: some sections carry none, others the long honey-coloured spines typical of the species.One source states this, and our house botanist has checked it. Uneven spination along a stem, from bare to long honey-coloured, is common in this genus.
- Notes
- Named as a clone that picks up humidity blisters in cold wet weather more readily than similar clones, and listed among the more blemish-prone names.Too little stands behind this for us to confirm it.Ribs go irregular, fuse or smooth over, which is what produces the melted look.One source states this, and our house botanist has checked it. Irregular, fused or flattened ribs are exactly how monstrose growth reads as "melted".Skin keeps the blue-green colouring usual for bridgesii.One source states this, and our house botanist has checked it. Blue-green epidermis is normal for the species and well within the genus's colour range.
What the sources say
The link to the Lotusland garden is offered as likely rather than established. Our own notes list Lotusland among the clones most prone to humidity blisters and blemishes in cold wet weather, a trait the wiki page does not mention.Too little stands behind this for us to confirm it.
Related names
Keep exploring
Cultivar histories in this hobby are passed between growers; where sources disagree we say so rather than pick a side.