Allium 2011

[TheOnionMan]

From small bulbs received last summer, in bloom now if the mystery Caucasus Allium collected by Magnar Aspaker, which Dr. Reinhard Fritsch suggested was probably Allium kunthianum or A. karsianum.  I've had no time to attempt keying it out, but it sure is an attractive small species with individually largish florets.

[TheOnionMan]

Allium myths and misnomers debunked

From the "no such thing exists" category, is Allium cneorum.  No such name was ever published, nor any name close to it. Most likely is an imaginative deciphering of hand-written scrawl on a faded label from A. cernuum  (cernuum <---> cneorum, plausible isn't it!). The plant going around in the UK under this name is clearly just a form of yellow-flowered knob-head A. obliquum.  

So how is it possible that a name like Allium cernuum (a typically pink-flowered species) could be misinterpreted/misapplied to a yellow flower-species and coming out as "cneorum"?  Easy, grow 100 species of Allium from the seed exchanges, and count how may end up actually being Allium cernuum, you'll be surprised.  Or, it could simply be a label mixup, the misidentification perpetuated by nurseries and growers not validating what they're growing.  And here again, one could imagine a faded label of "obliquum" coming out as "cneorum", another plausible mis-deciphering.

But the most curious part of this particular Allium myth, is that it is supposedly native to Alaska!!!  It is listed by one European nursery as "the American counterpart of A. obliquum". Maybe seed was mislabeled and sent in from a donor gardening in Alaska, and it became misinterpreted as an unusual wild species from Alaska??? Only two Allium species are found in Alaska, A. schoenoprasum and A. victorialis.

Allium obliquum comes from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia; E Europe. Aside from the rare Texas endemic Allium coryi, no other North American Allium has yellow flowers.  Allium photos that I've seen labeled as Allium "cneorum" on web sites, and on this forum, are in fact Allium obliquum, not a species indigenous to Alaska.  Anyone growing this plant under this name, run out to the garden quickly with a new label and pencil, and change the name to A. obliquum.

Now, if we're talking about Convolvulus cneorum or Daphne cneorum, that's a different matter

[Stephenb]

Never come across cneorum. Interesting to read that victorialis ranges into Alaska - didn't realise that...

I have several accessions of Allium splendens - all are the same (pictures) - but, I've always thought it was wrong as it's not splendid enough. Now, I see that splendens also means "shining" and there is a certain shininess about the flowers. Is this really splendens? Haven't tried keying it out in FOC yet....

[Stephenb]

...and this came up from Allium platycaule seed. Any suggestions?

[wmel]

...and this came up from Allium platycaule seed. Any suggestions?

Looks like allium palasii...........

[wmel]

I have several accessions of Allium splendens - all are the same (pictures) - but, I've always thought it was wrong as it's not splendid enough. Now, I see that splendens also means "shining" and there is a certain shininess about the flowers. Is this really splendens? Haven't tried keying it out in FOC yet....

Photo below is wat we grow as allium splendens........

[TheOnionMan]

Never come across cneorum. Interesting to read that victorialis ranges into Alaska - didn't realise that...

I have several accessions of Allium splendens - all are the same (pictures) - but, I've always thought it was wrong as it's not splendid enough. Now, I see that splendens also means "shining" and there is a certain shininess about the flowers. Is this really splendens? Haven't tried keying it out in FOC yet....

Well, strictly speaking the Flora of Alaska includes the long chain of Aleutian Islands (over 1000 miles), and Allium victorialis (as subsp. platyphyllum) is found at the furthest tip of the Aleutians (Attu Islands) in the Bering Sea, approaching the Kamchatka Peninsula   So it only just barely creeps into the Alaskan flora.

Your Allium splendens looks like the right thing.  I have grown numerous forms, and keyed it in Flora of the USSR, but worth a second look.  The species can be taken as the "type" for a number of related species, with Dr. Micolai Friesen at the forefront of defining species in this group.  You are right, the name suggests "splendid" but in fact simply refers to the shininess of the flowers (which many Allium share), and it is a pleasant but rather unremarkable affair.  Wietse, not sure what your Allium splendens is, looks different than anything I've grown under this name, has me curious to re-investigate the species descriptions.

[wmel]

Allium myths and misnomers debunked

From the "no such thing exists" category, is Allium cneorum.  No such name was ever published, nor any name close to it. Most likely is an imaginative deciphering of hand-written scrawl on a faded label from A. cernuum  (cernuum <---> cneorum, plausible isn't it!). The plant going around in the UK under this name is clearly just a form of yellow-flowered knob-head A. obliquum.  

So how is it possible that a name like Allium cernuum (a typically pink-flowered species) could be misinterpreted/misapplied to a yellow flower-species and coming out as "cneorum"?  Easy, grow 100 species of Allium from the seed exchanges, and count how may end up actually being Allium cernuum, you'll be surprised.  Or, it could simply be a label mixup, the misidentification perpetuated by nurseries and growers not validating what they're growing.  And here again, one could imagine a faded label of "obliquum" coming out as "cneorum", another plausible mis-deciphering.

But the most curious part of this particular Allium myth, is that it is supposedly native to Alaska!!!  It is listed by one European nursery as "the American counterpart of A. obliquum". Maybe seed was mislabeled and sent in from a donor gardening in Alaska, and it became misinterpreted as an unusual wild species from Alaska??? Only two Allium species are found in Alasta, A. schoenoprasum and A. victorialis.

Allium obliquum comes from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia; E Europe. Aside from the rare Texas endemic Allium coryi, no other North American Allium has yellow flowers.  Allium photos that I've seen labeled as Allium "cneorum" on web sites, and on this forum, are in fact Allium obliquum, not a species indigenous to Alaska.  Anyone growing this plant under this name, run out to the garden quickly with a new label and pencil, and change the name to A. obliquum.

Now, if we're talking about Convolvulus cneorum or Daphne cneorum, that's a different matter

We received a few years ago seed from the U.S.A. as allium cneorum, and we were told it woud be the nord-american form of a. obliquum. (NARGS seed list 2002-2003)
After growing a few years we saw it was different from obliquum in a lot of things:

bulbs of obliquum are pinkish and cneorum was pure white
flowering of cneorum is 2-3 weeks later than obliquum
obliquum has much bigger flowers
obliquum is much higher

So, seeing the difference, with the story, some buyers wanted to sell it in there catalog.
We never checked if name or story were correct..... sorry

[wmel]

Some photos from today and yesterday;
Allium pskemense in holland is already flowering
is allium szovitsii correct?? (Grown from seed USA)
allium cupanii now flowering for a week or two (darker colour than in the begin of flowering)
a. saxatille we have in 3 colours, one is not flowering yet
2 different forms of a. cernuum
a. sativum var ophioscorodum not flowering but with nice curly stem.
a. azureum and a. macranthum

[wmel]

second 5 photos

[wmel]

From small bulbs received last summer, in bloom now if the mystery Caucasus Allium collected by Magnar Aspaker, which Dr. Reinhard Fritsch suggested was probably Allium kunthianum or A. karsianum.  I've had no time to attempt keying it out, but it sure is an attractive small species with individually largish florets.

Mark, this is what we grow as a. kunthianum.
Very smal allium only 3-5 centimeters high

[Stephenb]

What on earth is this? I have a mental block! I have no record of platnting an Allium here, but the plant looks familiar.

[TheOnionMan]

Stephen, looks like a pale form of Allium prattii?  Very nice floral form and color by the way.

[Maggi Young]

Hoorah!  I thought Allium prattii too  Things are looking up, I identified an onion!

[Stephenb]

Maggi: But I didn't recognise it despite having only recently posted a picture of it from Gothenburg! Congratulations by the way on your first! But, where on earth did I get it from?

Thanks, Mark, at least I knew that I knew it.

Wietse: Another great set of Alliums - love the mass spread of the dwarf Allium cernuum - wish I had more space...