Rare kumara flower delights Northland woman
26 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
2 minutes to read
The special kumara flower in Gillian Lovell s Kaitaia garden. Photos / Supplied
Northern Advocate
She first saw one some 30 years ago, but the unexpected appearance of a purple kumara flower was still a special event for Kaitaia woman Gillian Lovell.
The flower didn t last long, she said, but was spectacular before it began to collapse.
Gillian s nephew, Kevin Matthews, said purple and gold kumara were very rarely seen flowering - the commercial yellow variety did so more regularly - but could produce blooms under stress, such as might be caused by a sudden change in weather.
The rarest of vegetable garden blooms
21 Apr, 2021 09:34 PM
2 minutes to read
The kumara flower in Gillian Lovell s garden. Photo / supplied
Northland Age
By: Peter Jackson
She first saw one some 30 years ago, but the unexpected appearance of a purple kumara flower was still a special event for Kaitaia woman Gillian Lovell.
The flower didn t last long, she said, but was spectacular before it began to collapse.
Gillian s nephew, Kevin Matthews, said purple and gold kumara were very rarely seen flowering - the commercial yellow variety did so more regularly - but could produce blooms under stress, such as might be caused by a sudden change in weather. The variety in Gillian s garden had been in the Matthews family for well over a century.