[Hilary]

Yesterday I was given this bunch of bulbs to plant.
they originated in the village of Levidi in central Peloponnese where, apparently, they grow prolifically.
My friend planted them in a damp and sunless part of her garden, which is at sea level, where they thrived.
I have now planted them where i hope they will be cool enough to survive.
She says they have white flowers all winter long.
Does any one have any idea what they can be?
 

[Fleur Pavlidis]

Do they smell of onion/garlic? In which case an allium.

[Hilary]

Fleur
I did try to catch a wiff of garlic but they didn't smell of anything.
Allium looks good in the book.
I hope they survive the summer heat and produce flowers next autumn
Hilary

[Fermi]

Hilary,
if they have flowers like this then they are possibly Zephyranthes candida, but for us they flower in autumn rather than winter.
cheers
fermi

[pamela]

It looks like Zephranthes to me, as well. 

[Hilary]

Many thanks to Fermi and Pamela.
I will watch their progress with interest next autumn and see what happens
Hilary

[Hilary]

five years later.
Most of my bulbs disappeared , one is still producing leaves but I should have kept the soil damper than I did.
last week, visiting my friend's garden, she showed me her one flower which came from the bulbs she had collected from Levidi.
Reading about Zephyranthes candida I wonder why they would be so prolific in the central Peloponnese and wonder if it is not some kind of crocus.
I will look more carefully at the petals, leaves etc. if it is still in flower the next time I go visiting on a book exchanging mission

[Alisdair]

Definitely not a crocus, Hilary; it really does look much more like Zephyranthes candida

[David Dickinson]

Here are my Zephyranthes candida flowering at the moment. For me they flower in late summer and autumn. I think this is because during the summer they get some water. I read that they are called Rain Lilies because they flower after rain. Therefore, if you leave them dry for a couple of weeks and then water them you get flowers. Leaving them dry for a second period and then watering them again will produce a second bloom and so on throughout the autumn. With the amount of torrential rain we have had since the middle of August in Rome there has been little need to water anything. Most unusual summer.

[Hilary]

Many thanks to all of you
.I am now convinced that the white flower I asked to be identified is Zephyranthes candida.
I have just been on the phone to my friend who has the white flower in her garden.
She found them  growing prolifically  in the garden of a holiday home  in Levidi, not growing wild in the fields as I thought