I've heard it said that everyone has a doppelgänger, a virtual double who may be mistaken for the original. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, as I was flying through the supermarket, a guy I didn't recognize called to me. I thought he'd addressed me by name so I stopped. When I greeted him with a hello and a confused look, he introduced himself as Bob Someone, my former neighbor in San Pedro. But I've never lived in San Pedro. I subsequently learned that he'd called me "Pris," not Kris - the name similarity had contributed to my confusion, if not to his. In any case, he claimed that I have a near double somewhere here in the South Bay.
The existence of botanical doppelgängers was raised by readers of my
recent blog post on Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum.' I posted a picture of this:
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| Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' in my back garden |
And a few people commented that they initially mistook it as variegated Euphorbia like this:
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| Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' in a pot on my back patio |
The foliage form and coloration is similar. Clearly, these are the elements that drew me to both plants.
I started to wonder if I had other doppelgängers in my garden. Discounting plants in the same genus, the only other pair that came remotely close were
Arthropodium cirratum and
Beschorneria yuccoides. The former is also known as Renga Lily while the latter is commonly known as Mexican Lily. My
Beschorneria is still a relatively young plant but the similarities are more apparent when the
Arthropodium is compared to a more mature
Beschorneria.
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| Mature Arthropodium cirratum in the border on the southeast side border |
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| Relatively new Beschorneria yuccoides in the dry garden |
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| Wikipedia's image of mature Beschorneria yuccoides |
Do you have any doppelgängers lurking in your garden?
