Biarum

[Paul T]

Fred,

Wow!!    That distichianum is a stunner. Never seen it before, and definitely one to get hold of as it is fascinating!!   I grow the marmariense here, and theoretically davisii (although never flowered it).  Thanks for the pics.

[Jim McKenney]

Wonderful photos, everyone - please, more!

Biarum carduchorum, B. davisii, B. marmariense, B. tneuifolium, B. carratracense and B. zeleborii are the ones I grow - in a protected cold frame. A friend in the area successfully grows some of these outside in the garden.

It's a genus of interesting, small, tidy, eminently collectable plants for sure!

[Anthony Darby]

I have B. marmarisense, but I suspect it won't flower this year.

Antony,

I grow other Biarum species, but I have noticed that each bulb bloom every second year.

Thanks Oron. I'm also having trouble getting Arum pictum to flower. Plenty of leaves but agin this year no flowers.

[Oron Peri]

Now this is a rare site: Biarum olivieri.

This morning 4am i went to the North part of the Negev desert in order to find this tiny thing.
It is known only from 3 sites in Egypt, Israel and Jordan.
It is in Bloom in early January, growing in firm sand, 20-30 mm of rain are enough to bring this sp. to flower it is so tiny and narrow that one think it is grass.
I'm afraid I missed the flowers this year since there were allready fruits in total i have counted 14 plants.

The photo of the flower is taken two years ago, notice the very thin and long black spadix.

[BULBISSIME]

Great Oron !

I hope you'll be able to get some seeds !

If so,.......I'm very interested in 
fred

[Anthony Darby]

I second that. I feel a desire for plants with curley leaves.

[Maggi Young]

My goodness, when I see the car key for scale, I see just how easy it would be to miss these little leaves!

[Jim McKenney]

Oron, from what I can see in the pictures, it looks a bit like a very attenuated Biarum tenuifolium. Is it related to that species? Do the true flowers remain underground with only the spathe and spadix extending up into the air?

Two years ago I forgot to water my Biarum davisii enough; it bloomed with the spathe completely underground - I found it by accident when cleaning.

It's hard not to like the Biarum - they're cute, and their small size makes them so collectible!

[Oron Peri]

Jim,

Peter C. Boyce, in his new monograph of the genus Biarum [which i think is an eccelent reference!!!]
indicate that B. olivieri is allied to B. bovei, B. dispar and B. crispulum.

I agree with you that leaf resembles an attenuated B. tenuifolium or even B. angustatum that grows also in sands along the coast.

The real flower is usually just above ground but often half buried, but I can not answer if it is caused by the sand movement or a natural way to protect it from insects.