M. horridula

Plants based around what used to be M. horridula have now been divided up into at least 9 species. Some of these simply do not make sense to me and are just excuses for splitting. Two are illustrated here. The dark blue with white anthers on a tall raceme is what is now called M. prattii and is the original easy garden species that would probably grow in some quite dry and hot parts of the world. The other resembles the one that is now called M. horridula and is a high altitude plant (5,000 metres) in the Himalayas. I have always found it extremely difficult and failed with it though I have tried it a number of times. The second plant is one flowering in my garden that resembles the high altitude form in that it is scapose and an attractive pale blue - almost certainly not the real thing I fear!