Allium 2010

[fermi de Sousa]

It IS a river bed isn't it? and you're right Pat, the flowerheads are just about stone-coloured and are beautifully disguised. probably more visible in the flesh, as it were.

Fortunately All karataviense is safely on our Bio Index.

A nasty rumour I've heard is that Australian Biosecurity is unlikely to let any new alliums onto the "allowed list" because of the proclivity to weediness of a "few"! It won't stop us submitting Weed Risk Assesssments but they are quite likely to be refused.
cheers
fermi

[TheOnionMan]

One of the earlier Alliums blooming today, in a threesome view... Allium decipiens, with Linum perenne in the background, and to the left, the scarlet buds of Penstemon eatonii ready to open.  I may have overdone it with Linum perenne; at one time I had a hard time getting it established, then it started seeding about freely and I would relocate seedlings here and there, really liking the vertical ephemeral fountains of blue saucers every morning, a beautiful foil to pink, rose, and purple blooms on early Allium species like chives (A. schoenoprasum) and nodding onion (A. cernuum), but now rethinking the situation as Linum perenne is seedling around with overly wild abandon... too much of a good thing.

Allium decipiens is one of the smaller species in Allium section Melannocrommyum; yes it can get to 30" tall (75 cm) but is usually a little bit lower, and the hemispherical heads are smallish and refined, looking very different than other members of this section.  It is native to Turkey, Central Asia, Russia, and Siberia, and possibly in China too, although not included in the online Flora of China.  The species is distinctive on account of the 1-2 cm wide long lorate (opposite sides parallel) basal leaves that sit flat against the ground.  This one seeds around, popping up here and there, but it's such a charmer, I do not worry about its mild spreading.  Shortly after the spring flowering, it dries up and goes dormant.

[Maggi Young]

The Linum is easy enough to weed out where you want to, though, is it not, McMark? I think the combination of  Allium/Linum is glorious! 

[arillady]

I agree with Maggi - great combination Mark.

[PeterT]

Pretty linums, Here's Allium lyconatum from Janis, some seedlings of Aliium nevskianum, Allium tripedale-it sets seed but I've not had any germination yet, its bulking up after not apearing one year though, and also Nothoscordum bivalve

[TheOnionMan]

Pretty linums, Here's Allium lyconatum from Janis, some seedlings of Aliium nevskianum, Allium tripedale-it sets seed but I've not had any germination yet, its bulking up after not apearing one year though, and also Nothoscordum bivalve

Peter, I think your Ruksans Allium might have gotten mixed up, your photo #1, while blurry, is still unmistakably Allium oreophilum; Janis sells several selected forms of this, mine are in bud ready to pop open any day.  The true Allium lycaonicum (note spelling) from Turkey, is in section Malanocrommyum, and is allied to A. cyrilli and A. decipiens (see above), but with deep red flowers.  Found an interesting paper on a new form of A. decipiens, in which A. lycaonicum is mentioned taxonomically, see:

"A new species of Allium decipiens (sect. Melanocrommyum, Alliaceae) from the Crimean and NW Caucasus Mt.s by Alexey P. Seregin."
http://www.bio.bas.bg/~phytolbalcan/PDF/13_2/13_2_08_Seregin.pdf  (bottom left of page 199 for mention of A. lycaonicum).

Keep an eye on your Nothoscordum bivalve, it is typically considered an invasive species.

[PeterT]

Thanks Mark That explains why I thought I had lost oreophilum.

[pel1]

Hi,
Can any of you allium experts put a name to these two? the first has been in my garden for years without  a label, the second is in a public park in Bromley, Kent.
Thanks, James

[TheOnionMan]

Hi,
Can any of you allium experts put a name to these two? the first has been in my garden for years without  a label, the second is in a public park in Bromley, Kent.
Thanks, James

James, the first one looks like chives; Allium schoenoprasum.  There are a few alliums that can have flowers with the superficial general aspect of chive blossoms (such as A. heldreichii) but if the foliage is terete and fistular (round and hollow in cross-section), then it is most likely A. schoenoprasum.  In the second photo, I can't tell what is grass and what is allium foliage, so going on the bulbilliferous head alone, I'd say it was a form of Allium canadense.  This Allium is native but considered a weedy invasive found in the greater eastern half of the USA and Canada.

Distribution map.  Note, the thumbnail image that comes up with the first link is atypical, normally the flowers are white to slightly tinged pink, and with a few to many largish bulbils that can be various colors; green, whitish, or most often shaded reddish.  The second link has some photos that show the plant better.
http://www.plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ALCA3
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ALCAC

Jump to a message below:  http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4757.msg153788#msg153788 where the ID on the second photo was corrected to Allium roseum var. bulbiferum.

[arisaema]

Mark;

Since my own plant is a few weeks away from flowering and I'm bound to forget taking a picture anyway, I was wondering if you could take a look at this picture by Magnar Aspaker and give your opinion on what it might be? It's from Caucasus, and produce bulbils. Leaves are linear and solid with longitudinal ridges, identical on both sides.

[TheOnionMan]

Mark;

Since my own plant is a few weeks away from flowering and I'm bound to forget taking a picture anyway, I was wondering if you could take a look at this picture by Magnar Aspaker and give your opinion on what it might be? It's from Caucasus, and produce bulbils. Leaves are linear and solid with longtitudal ridges, identical on both sides.

I remember that photo, I believe Magnar sent it to me a year or two ago to ask for help in identifying it.  I'll try to find what I reported back to him, but a cursory search did not come up with anything.  I do remember this one being quite the puzzler, and I don't think I was able to put a solid identification on it. 

The fact that the plant has bulbils can be a bit misleading, as a number of species not normally described as having bulbils, can indeed make bulbils (as a minor manifestation) in the flower heads, sometimes a particular clone showing a propensity to have tiny poorly developed bulbils.  I have a form of blue A. beesianum that produces tiny bulbils, these not even noticeable until after the flowers fade and as the seed capsules develop, little green sprouts can appear out of the drying inflorescence, these can be picked off and planted.  I have also found bulbils here and there, on such non-bulbiliferous species as A. cernuum, stellatum, flavum, caesium, senescens, angulosum, nutans, hollandicum, etc.

Back to the plant in question, one difficulty is that a number of new species have been described in the Caucasus since the initial floras came out.  While the leaves are described in general terms, it is hard to gauge their size and physical dimension from the photo, nor do I know anything about the bulb characteristics.

[Afloden]

Mark,
 
 I have never had Nothoscordum bivalve become weedy, but I see it is not permitted in NARGS and is considered an invasive by so many. I would bet that if someone were to do a lot of chromosome sampling they would find the southern forms are tetraploid and propagate heavily by vegetative means and those on the northern edge of its range are diploid and produce largely by seed. I grow this plant for its intensely sweet scent on close examination. When I see it in the south (ca. 200km further than Knoxville) it is a common roadside weed present by the thousands.

 I would not say that is A. canadense. The tepals are far too rounded for it. The A. canadense alliance is another that I find is underrated. I have numerous collections of the better forms; lavendulare, mobilense, and fraseri. All are floriferous, non-bulbiliferous, and just plain good garden plants. The phenology of this group keeps me flowering from early April until the second week of June (texanum is the last to flower). Pictures to come.

Bjornar,

 The Allium on Magnar's site has always intrigued me. It is something similar to what I received as A. globosum, but is better called A. saxatile. I have three other globosum/saxatile collections that will bloom this summer. If Mark won't put a name on it I won't attempt to. He has helped me identify a few odds and ends from CY.

 Aaron

 

 

[TheOnionMan]

The second photo is probably Allium roseum in its bulbiliferous form (var. bulbiferum), sorry for my hasty assessment:

http://www.maltawildplants.com/LILI/Allium_roseum.html
http://www.aphotoflora.com/DevonandCornwall/Allium%20roseum-bulbils-29-05-06.jpg
http://www.aphotoflora.com/DevonandCornwall/Allium%20roseum29-05-06.jpg

I shouldn't be trying to multi-task, dashing in from being out in the garden and then hastily aswering SRGC messages   Aaron, so far as A. canadense, yes we both know there is a whole book in the story of the "canadense alliance", which reminds me, I must start scanning Thad Howards letters to PDF.

I too have grown Nothosciordum bivalve in pots, for the delicious scent.  Years ago Thad Howard sent me pink-flowered plants he found in Texas, but they never prospered with me and eventually died out.

I don't think Magnar's Allium is of the globosum/saxatile clan, stamens would need to be far exserted (which they're not), and after growing numerous forms of saxatile, globosum and marschallianum (the last two generally considered conspecific with saxatile, merely color forms), they have a rather different look and aspect to the flowers than Magnar's plant.  I need to research it more.

[Afloden]

 Here are some A. canadense var. lavendulare collections from differing localities in the midwestern US. The "White Flag" is a selection of the typically bulbiliferous eastern US form I believe. In that picture one can see A. c. lavendulare to right for a comparison in plant size. Allium texanum will begin in a week or so and is larger than "White Flag." Allium mobilense just started and is usually always pale pink and more dainty.

 Mark, someday I'd like to do the DNA on the collections I have and reinstate var. lavendulare and var. fraseri. A. fraseri has a scent similar to, but much fainter than A. perdulce. It also prefers perfectly draining sand in situ and the leaves are glossy green, not glaucous or grey-green. AND, it flowers three weeks earlier.

 The seed crop on A. perdulce was heavy this year!
 
 Wow, a pink Nothoscordum....

 There was a paper where the saxatile group was split again! I have not been able to get a copy yet.

 Aaron
 

[olegKon]

My first experience of Allium falcifolium bought at Wisley last year. It successfully survived winter and is about to open the buds. Will appreciate any advice on summer requirements. Thanks