Allium flavum L. is native to the Mediterranean. It is one of the species which has been selected for numerous color forms as seen in the entries below. The first two photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen at the UC Botanical Garden in August 2008. The particular accession was collected from France. It grows under the shades of oak trees where it gets filtered sunlight. The next two photos from Mary Sue Ittner, including one with a pollinator.
Allium flavum ssp. tauricum (Besser ex Rchb.) K.Richt. (syn. Allium paczoskianum Tuzson) "selected mixed colors" photo taken July 8, 2002 followed by "Selected mixed colors in the morning". You have to love these things; the colors are so lovely, refreshing, and variable. Due to their pastel flower colors, and the fact the florets are waxy and have an underlying color, then covered with a dusty "bloom" or powder of another color on the outside, the color rendition is hard to characterize and each looks very different depending on light and time of day. I particularly like to observe them in the low morning light. Notice too, the wide, boat-shaped spathe valves that mix in with the flower heads, more pronounced on some specimens than others. Photos by Mark McDonough.
Named Color Forms - The following list represents a sampling of named color forms that I selected over the past several years. All photos by Mark McDonough.
The first two photos below are of 'Boston Baked Beans' and the third shows 'Cantaloupe' and 'Tan'. The fourth photo is of 'Cinnamon' - one of my favorite colors, and the first to be selected in the deep orange range. The color changes over it's bloom cycle, but in general could be characterized as a burnt brownish or burnt reddish-orange. As with most "tauricums", the growth is compact and stocky, typically 8"-10" (20-25 cm) in height, clumping well, and with gray or silvered foliage, the silver patina most evident on the stems.
The first two photos show 'Drawn Butter' and 'Hot Cauldron 1'. The third photo is of 'Hot Molasses' followed by two of 'Lemon Cooler' the latter is one of the more lively colored selections I made in summer 2001 with orangy-yellow and pink flowers. There was a "Hot Cauldron 2" selected as well. I believe both were lost over winter due to rodent predation, but I did save seed. In the foreground is a dwarf, deep pink form just "going over".
Photos of 'Lindsey', 'Pastel Parasol', 'Silver Shrimp', and 'Truely Faded', the last in bud, showing the striking silver coloration of stems and spathes.
Unnamed Color Forms - The following list show yet more variation in flower color and plant form. All photos by Mark McDonough.
First mixed colors, 2 yr. old seedlings, then 3 yr old seedlings, an orange form at late anthesis, ageing to rose, and orange and pink forms from a squirrel's eye view.
Photos below illustrate orange, pastel two-toned yellow and orange form and pink, a light yet lively form with blue-white stems, a robust wiry-leafed form with bright pink flowers, tawny pastels in pale melon colors, and white-aging-pinkish, and an orange-aging-rose form.
