Another reference found without further info:

A Mándy, E Stefanovits-Bányai, C Imre, Z Szafián
Esterase And Peroxidase Isozyme Patterns Of Some Hosta Varieties
Methods and Markers for Quality Assurance in Micropropagation, 1999

Found a reference to an article about RAPD analysis of Hosta minor.
Sounds interesting, a variegated H. minor from Korea, however it's in Korean . Only English:

Morphological Characteristics and Analysis of Genetic Relationship by Using RAPD in Leaf Variegated Hosta minor Native to Mt. Halla, Korea

And a reference:

Kim HH, Park YW, Bang JW, Yoon PS (2004) Chromosome numbers and compositions in four Korean native species of the genus Hosta. Abstract, 2nd Asian Chromosome Colloquium, p38.


A funny story about a cottontail rabbit visiting a garden and having "fun" with hostas. You can click the title to read the whole story, but as I don't know how long the link will last I will quote the hosta related part (and a bit more):

This rabbit was friendly from the start as a small young rabbit in May. As I worked around the garden with weeding, watering or other chores, often Jimmy would be close by feeding and watching me. He appeared to be healthy throughout the summer.

His favorite food was grass along with some weeds. Once he stood on his hind legs and pulled down a hosta bloomstalk. Slowly the stalk was pulled into his mouth (no help from paws) inch by inch until the flower was reached. And yes, the flower was eaten.

From this article I found the part about hostas very amusing:

I've also been dividing hostas for the last week or so. What a barbaric activity! Dividing hostas defies every instinct of plant care that I've developed over the years. There is no gentle or delicate way to divide a hosta. The roots of hostas grow together in such a tangled mess that the only way to get them apart is to cut and rip and tear and slice them apart. Every fiber of my being screams that this is not acceptable; this is no way to treat a plant. The amazing thing is, though, they don't seem to mind it at all. I've had pieces of a hosta with only one tiny hair of a root left on them after I've ripped it off the parent plant, and they grow great. They are truly amazing plants.

The Peoria Journal Star mentions the ICC (Illinois Central College) having named seven campus roads. The new roads include a Hosta Lane, which describes the short road near the horticulture lab and near hosta gardens, and a Lakeside Drive. Not sure if you have to use Lakeside Drive to reach Hosta Lane.

With these words the Star Tribune starts a story about friendship between two neighbours that started when one of them offered some hosta she had divided to her next-door neighbor.

It reminds me about a story of using Hosta as the frienship plant.

The American Hosta Society has provided some funding to research the genotyping of Hosta plants by using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP).

According to the site they are attempting to determine how closely related hosta species are in their "family trees".

This work was done in the summer of 2003.

The Lexington Herald-Leader published a short interview with Michael Laico about hostas. Mr. Laico is the president of the Greater Carolinas Hosta Society.

Under the title "A life of hostas", Farm and Diary published a long article about Pete and Jean Ruh and their hostas. An interesting read, strongly recommended.

Reading through the latest Hosta Journal I noticed a promise in Part X of George Schmid's continuing saga on hosta species. He promises that a future installment (part XX?) will feature the results of one of the first RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) studies, which he participated in.

Read more!