The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Bulbs (including other geophytes with corms, tubers, rhizomes etc) => Topic started by: John on July 11, 2011, 08:11:05 PM
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Allium callimischon are autumn flowering onions which form their flowers in the spring but they stay as dormant buds through the hot dry summer until autumn triggers them back into growth. Allium callimischon subsp. callimischon is endemic to the western and southern parts of Greece with pale flowers and subtle markings. Allium callimischon subsp. haemostictum comes from Crete and south west Turkey. It has the same growth pattern and is very similar except it is distinctly marked with "blood spots" as it's subspecies name implies. Shown here in the second picture where the ovary is also dark.
There will be some variation throughout the distributiuon of these Alliums especially with subsp. callimischon as I have seen it in the wild.
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Allium tardans is an allium which even when in full flower all but the most eager eyed flower watcher would walk past. It blends into it's background of dry material when it flowers in autumn. It has the same flowering method as A. callimischon, the flower buds are formed in spring and wait till autumn to open. It is common on Crete and only seems to occur across the waters in the Karpathos island group. So it's a Greek endemic. It varies quite a lot in height but around 15 cm or more is normal though on the top of Afendis Kavousi in eastern Crete it was only 8 cm high.
The 1st picture is of a typical form and the 2nd of what I take to be the equivalent of an albino where I presume the colour comes from the remaining chlorophyll in the tepals (petals and sepals).
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John, I have merged both your posts to one subject: Allium
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When Oron took us to the Poleg Dunes nature reserve near Tel-Aviv, on the MGS trip to Israel in March, one of the interesting plants we saw there was a large-flowered onion, Allium telavivense (http://Allium telavivense) - a very local endemic, now rare in the wild, as the building of Tel-Aviv has now covered most of its former habitat:
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It is in cultivation and may occasionally be available from specialist bulb dealers.
A New Zealand test of 30 different onion species found that A. telavivense - the only one of the 30 - seemed to be completely resistant to white rot, the bane of onion-growers (you can find an abstract of the scientific article here (http://lib.crop.cri.nz/scripts/public/gateway.exe?Application=publications&name=gform&SEARCHFORM=srchfull&DATABASE=OPUBLIC&SRCHAD=ID+=+188&displayform=full)). So Oron, maybe you should do a little judicious crossing with a large-bulbed eating onion! (I think considering its large flowers A. telavivense itself has rather small bulbs, doesn't it?)
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Merge away! I think you will be doing quite a lot more merging. Also many topics are straying onto other subjects which could become quite confusing.
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Perhaps you could also re-label the second one Allium tardans?
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Done! :D
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Allium tardiflorum is a rare endemic of Mt Carmel in north Israel. Surprisingly it blooms in autumn, like a few other related species in the eastern Mediterranean.
We grow this species in our "Shelter Garden for Endangered Plants". A project that enhance the need to protect plants in our dense little country.
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That spathe bract is rather wonderful!
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Although well known, the following are easy in mild winters and hot summers
triquetrum
nigrum
roseum
neapolitanum
conmutatum
bourgaei
atroviolaceum
subhirsutum
sphaerocephalon
Those you are mentioning are certainly fascinating
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Do be careful with any Allium. Many can be terrible weeds almost impossible to eradicate. Some are prolific from bulbils in their inflorescence or from seed. In our case in our front garden here in London I introduced A. triquetrum which I though I could control by removing the seed heads. Needless to say I failed and it is everywhere. It produces copious little offsets underground too which makes it almost impossible to dig out. It has also escaped into the street where it looks quite nice around the base of the trees and lamp posts. SO YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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John, you should have taken warning from the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, which made it an offence to plant A. triquetrum anywhere in the wild in the UK!
Which alliums do people in mediterranean-climate areas (as opposed to the UK's mild climate) find invasive? It seems to me that they are much easier to keep under control there. In Greece we find that A. neapolitanum, a native there anyway, seeds itself around only very gently even if we encourage it. And our attempts to grow another native there in Greece, the beautiful A. roseum - which is counted as invasive in the UK - aren't very successful, though it does come up occasionally on its own.
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I just can't imagine any garden plant becoming too prolific in my Greek garden, I am mostly struggling to keep anything I plant alive, sometimes I succed. The only plants I have more of than I like are Tribulus terrestris and wild oat, Avena fatua.
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Another Greek endemic is Allium heldreichii, from northern Greece. It's quite a small one and looks rather like chives, but the bulbs are quite different, round and not clumping in the same way. This one was grown from seed, from a collection originally by Jimmy Persson for Goteborg Botanic Garden, from Mt Giona:
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Two autumnal Alliums from the region in bloom today;
A. chamaespathum from E. Crete and the endemic A. autumnale from Cyprus
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Alisdair - Allium heldreichii - that's a cracking photo!
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Thanks, Mike - not such an interesting plant as those Oron's just shown us, but at least as pretty!
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After a rainy winter spring is booming, near Ashdod in coastal Israel there are carpets of Allium tel-avivense, as u can see, our dog Lily enjoys them as well :)
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the alliums are nice but the dog is nicer!!!
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Probably smells nicer too!
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For forum photos of some other Allium species, click on their names below:
Allium feinbergii (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=851.msg5553#msg5553) (bulbs)
Allium libani (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=851.msg5553#msg5553)
Allium nevadense (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=274.0)
Allium tuberosum (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=310)
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By no means all onions and garlics smell "oniony" - as John knows well! These plants of Allium flavum var. minus, flowering in a pot under glass in the UK, have a really sweet fragrance. It's a pretty little plant; the seeds I grew these from came from Mt Olympus in Greece (via Gothenburg Bot Garden), and the variety is also found in Turkey, while small forms of A. flavum crop up elsewhere in southern Europe; the yellow colouring is rather variable, and I think some good colour forms may have been selected. The flowers in my pot range from 10 to 20 cm high.
A distinctive feature is that the stems and often leaves look blue-green, at least when they first show - the colour is actually a dense powder, which rubs away easily.
My plants are grown under a more or less Mediterranean regime, but get water later into summer than they would at low altitudes around the Med - I dare not plant them out in our hot dry Greek garden.
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The flowers may smell sweet, but if you bruise the leaves don't you get the telltale pong? That's how it is with Allium roseum.
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I was thinking that too!
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I did mean to crush and sniff when I went down to the greenhouse just now, but it's pouring with rain here (as usual) and by the time I'd fed the pigs in their utterly muddy and treacherously slippery pen (we share them with a neighbour) I clean - though that's hardly the right word - forgot! Will try and remember tomorrow.
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Though not all alliums suit the mediterranean climate we have a few that do well.
In flower now are a few colour forms of Allium flavum ssp tauricum.
The type form is yellow;
A range of peach and pinky colours were raised and distributed by Mark McDonough in the USA. Another NARGS member, Louise Parsons, donated seed of these selections to the NARGS Seedex and I raised a few different colours from these. I'll be ordering more from this year's Seedex to see if I can get more variety!
cheers
fermi
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This tiny allium was grown from seed from the 2005 AGS Seedex - wild collected (?in France?).
It is Allium chamaemoly and we grow it in a pot as it would be swamped in the garden!
cheers
fermi
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What an extraordinary little thing, Fermi!
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What an extraordinary little thing, Fermi!
Quite different to the next one to flower: Allium neapolitanum
cheers
fermi
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How ruthless do you have to be with the seedlings, Fermi? In our unwatered Greek garden it's very quick to seed itself profusely if we give it half a chance (not that we mind, as it's such a cheerful little thing!).
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Alisdair,
this is the first year that it has flowered well and we might have to worry about seedlings!
However the area was dug over recently and the bulblets must've been dispersed as it has spread a bit!
But not enough to be concerned about,
cheers
fermi
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A month later and the "Allium neapolitanum Patch" is in full bloom!
cheers
fermi
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Here's a little North American onion, Allium drummondii,
cheers
fermi
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Another North American, Allium peninsulare
cheers
fermi
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Allium unifolium is yet another American onion,
cheers
fermi
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Allium falcifolium, a dwarf species from America; 2 pics;
Allium peninsulare, also from America; 2 pics;
Allium heldreichii, from Greece; 2 pics;
Mixed American alliums;
Allium dichlamydeum;
Allium bolanderi;
Another allium grown from Seedex seed - as Allium falcifolium but a lot taller and possibly another species such as Allium crispum;
cheers
fermi
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Grown from NARGS Seedex a number of years ago:
Allium flavum ssp tauricum in the garden with Habranthus martinezii;
Allium flavum ssp tauricum, peach shades, in a pot;
cheers
fermi
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Allium carinatum in our garden - it has a bit of a "lean on" as it is overshadowed!
cheers
fermi
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Too beautiful to use in cooking despite its extra-strong garlic flavour!
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Allium chamaemoly is in flower again
cheers
fermi
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It's widely distributed in the wild around the Mediterranean, but I've never seen it. Have other members?
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No
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It's widely distributed in the wild around the Mediterranean, but I've never seen it. Have other members?
It would be easy to miss!
cheers
fermi
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Allium cristophii growing in our garden
cheers
fermi
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Allium amethystinum is a bit like Allium sphaeruleum but the flower head is more spherical and is a bit taller in our garden
cheers
fermi
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This pink allium came into bloom this week.
I have no idea where it came from!
Could it be Allium roseum?
cheers
fermi
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Lovely - looks like roseum
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This was an unnamed allium I got from Hillview Rare Plants as an extra.
Any ideas what it could be?
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
Any photo of the leaves? number?
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Hi Oron,
sorry, when I went to look at the foliage it appears to have withered away already.
I don't remember it being remarkable in any way. I'll try to get a pic next year!
cheers
fermi
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Allium senecens - at least I think that's what it is - flowering with the light behind it
cheers
fermi
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Allium gracile
in flower at the end of the year
cheers
fermi
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How are you faring in your stricken country Fermi?
Our thoughts are with you.
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Hi Carole,
if you mean the fires, we are yet to be "impacted" but we are in a high fire risk area - it's why I dread the summer :(
If you are meaning our political situation this article sums it up!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/opinion/australia-fires-climate-change.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/opinion/australia-fires-climate-change.html)
cheers
fermi
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Meant the fire situation Fermi - afraid politics aren't for me!
Glad you are not badly affected at the moment but can understand the yearly worry you must suffer as the temperatures rise and the sadness as you hear about this year's catastrophic situation in so many areas.