[pbs] Two Allium of the season
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at jimmckenney.com
Fri Jun 1 16:41:08 EDT 2007
Two years ago while canvassing a small nursery I came across several Allium
for sale and purchased them. Two of these are in full bloom right now. One,
Allium maximowiczii, is very decorative: it forms tight clumps of foliage
somewhat in the style of a short version of chives. The foliage is nearly
hidden now by the very numerous flowers. These are whitish they look very
white until you see them next to something really white. The scapes are only
about six inches or so high, the umbels are about ¾ inch in diameter. >From a
distance they remind me of the clover inflorescences now spangling the lawn.
I bought this as Allium maximowiczii album, but learned on the wiki that it
is A. maximowiczii ssp. shibutsiense Alba.
Now that Ive written that name, a question arises. Shouldnt it be Album,
to agree in gender with Allium? The answer is perhaps not as obvious as it
seems. If Alba is a cultivar name, I dont think it has to agree in
gender. If it is part of a name subject to the international rules, it does.
But which is it?
Or maybe it does not matter. An IPNI search on the name shibutsiense turned
up nothing in Allium; but IPNI does list an Allium maximowiczii f.
leucanthum which might be my plant: the publication where the name was
published seems to describe alpine flora of Japan.
This post is really about the other one: Allium obliquum. I bought this
because the tag said it had yellow flowers. When I got home, I checked
Google images and was disappointed by what I found. So the plant sat around
in its pot and didnt get potted that year. I eventually relented, and Im
glad I did. Its blooming now, and the flowers are, as expected, not a good
yellow. They are a sort of chartreuse, in walnut-sized umbels.
To my tastes the great thing about this plant is that it is a sort of
miniature hard-neck garlic, a miniature ophioscorodon (I love that name).
The developing scapes go through the same twisting, arching, coiling phase
seen in the hard-necks. They have topped out at thirty-four inches. This is
very decorative!
Curious, I bit into a leaf today: lots of garlic taste there. I dont have
enough bulbs to eat them - yet.
To think that I almost tossed this plant: you really have to see things for
yourself. Suddenly this mini-rocambole is one of my favorite Allium.
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at jimmckenney.com
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where the garden is full of
dead and dying bulb foliage - and, I hope, fat and happy dormant bulbs.
My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com
Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS
Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org
Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org
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