Allium 2011

[bulborum]

Well I am not an Allium expert
but The first is how I know Allium amethystinum
the second could be Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum

Roland

[wmel]

Both of these Alliums came from seed labelled as Allium amethystinum!
What do the Allium-experts think? If the first one is the true Allium amethystinum - what is the second?
cheers
fermi

The first one is allium amethystinum, or "Forelock" as you can buy it in Holland.
The second one looks very much like allium acutiflorum to me.

[bulborum]

I think Forelock is an Allium amethystinum

Because most of them where multiplied by seed
I find it difficult to name them
Many are so different
so why name them with a name
if they aren't the same

For me plants with a name must be identical
The Forelock you buy in the shop sure aren't

Roland

[fermi de Sousa]

Thanks! That was quick!
I guess the mix up must've been because of the similarity in the names
But guess which one produced the seeds I sent into the SRGC Seedex as A. amethystinum!
Better luck for more accurate seed next year! More seed too hopefully,
cheers
fermi

[TheOnionMan]

Fermi, the first one looks correct as A. amethystinum.  One the second one, I can't tell what the foliage looks like, whether the foliage is from intermingled plants.  Can you take a closeup of the foliage, and describe it as well.  Cound be A. acutiflorum, but I'm not sure, need to see some foliage.

(Note:  I swear, I only saw Fermi's ID question then responded, because I use the link in the email notification, and didn't notice the subsequent responses from other Allium fans.  But after seeing the IDs, I concur with Wietse, as per my initial reaction  )

[wmel]

I think Forelock is an Allium amethystinum
For me plants with a name must be identical
The Forelock you buy in the shop sure aren't
Roland

I agree with you that "Forelock" is an amethystinum, and you are also right that Allium  "Forelock" plants/flowers are not identical, But I think the name Forelock is was standing for a product as cutflower in the beginning, and later it came as bulb for everyone to buy.
In the cutflower business it is important to have a good name, so people will remember the name of the product and know what to buy next time, and everybody knows it when they hear the name.
We do the same with some alliums, only in bulb selling we use true/pure bulbs grown frome one bulb and not by seeds.

[bulborum]

So the solution is easy
Fa. Duin makes a good clone in A.amethystinum
and calls it Forelock
stop selling mixed A.amethystinum as A. Forelock
Problem solved

Roland

[Stephenb]

I was sent this bunch of Allium scorodoprasum from an old population in Bergen. But, what is the onion at the bottom of this picture? A deviant or something else? The formation of bulbils half way up the scape of some varieties of garlic (such as Thermidrome) is well known and are called "stress-onions" over here, but I can't remember seeing this on other species?

[wmel]

I was sent this bunch of Allium scorodoprasum from an old population in Bergen. But, what is the onion at the bottom of this picture? A deviant or something else? The formation of bulbils half way up the scape of some varieties of garlic (such as Thermidrome) is well known and are called "stress-onions" over here, but I can't remember seeing this on other species?

It looks to me that the "Old" bulb, the one that was planted, has been growing up with the leaves.
I think when you get it of, you see it has no growing point but only some left over from the planted bulb.
You can see also the left over bulb below (with roots) is very small, much smaller than the other bulbs in the bunch.

[fermi de Sousa]

I guess the mix up must've been because of the similarity in the names
But guess which one produced the seeds I sent into the SRGC Seedex as A. amethystinum!
Better luck for more accurate seed next year! More seed too hopefully,

I've since realised that the mix up was my own fault! Mark McD had ID'd the Allium acutiflorum for me last year but when I divided up teh pot of A. amethystinum I got the names mixed up and promptly labelled the seeds I'd collected from A. acutiflorum as A. amethystinum! 
If anyone has already ordered the A. amethystinum from the current SRGC Seedex please send me a PM and I'll rectify it for them.
cheers
fermi

[Janis Ruksans]

My Allium amethystinum, collected in Turkey.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Allium acutiflorum
AS - from Arnis Seisums. smaller, more delicate form
Garlic - from Marc's seeds very long ago (as "Garlic seed exchange" arranged by him), larger and more robust plant.
Janis

[TheOnionMan]

Allium acutiflorum
AS - from Arnis Seisums. smaller, more delicate form
Garlic - from Marc's seeds very long ago (as "Garlic seed exchange" arranged by him), larger and more robust plant.
Janis

Janis, so nice to see these two forms of A. acutiflorum side by side for comparison.  And what a "flash back" to earlier days back in the early 1990s when I put out a quarterly newsletter (G.A.R.L.I.C.) for a few years and ran a seed exchange for Alliums, long since a faded memory after nearly 20 years.  How wonderful to see the efforts of seed cleaning paid off to get such a range of alliums into the hands of many growers.  When my second daughter was borne, the daily demands of life and parenting were such that time-consuming botanical pursuits became a thing of the past.

My A. acutiflorum had come from Richard Dadd in England, but I had since lost my plants.  Fortunately I received fresh seed this year from Weitse, and I hope for the best to once again grow this fine species.  I like the Seisums form as well.

And your Turkish Allium amethystinum, it's a study in geometric precision, with such equally spaced points of light, a beautiful flower and beautiful photographs.

[Stephenb]

Forgot to ask about this one in the summer, received as Allium rubens:

[Stephenb]

Janis, so nice to see these two forms of A. acutiflorum side by side for comparison.  And what a "flash back" to earlier days back in the early 1990s when I put out a quarterly newsletter (G.A.R.L.I.C.) for a few years and ran a seed exchange for Alliums, long since a faded memory after nearly 20 years.  How wonderful to see the efforts of seed cleaning paid off to get such a range of alliums into the hands of many growers.  When my second daughter was borne, the daily demands of life and parenting were such that time-consuming botanical pursuits became a thing of the past.

What did G.A.R.L.I.C. stand for? Do you still have the newsletter? Would be interesting to see one 

Did you name your daughters after Alliums? Amethyst, perhaps (Amy for short?)

S.