Bulbs that flower without leaves--TOW
Antennaria@aol.com (Sun, 03 Aug 2003 20:40:02 PDT)

Mary Sue wrote:

It's an interesting problem. No one has mentioned Alliums yet, but certainly
these come into play when talking about bulbs that flower without leaves. On
the whole, a large number of Allium species have foliage that's in decline at
the same time the flowers emerge (one of the criticisms of the genus). There
are those species however, where the foliage is absent or completely withered
by the time the flowers arrive. One such Allium, is the Japanese A. togasii,
which flowers in late summer to early autumn.

URL:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

I think of this as a plant with foliage first, then flowers... but it's sort
of like determining what's first, the chicken or the egg. There are many
plants that have foliage for a long season, even throughout the winter, then lose
the foliage before, during, or immediately after flowering, for a short
dormancy of 1-2 months, then re-emerge with winter-persistant growth. This growth
pattern seems to be more of a pattern of opposites... flowers... while foliar
growth is in decline or absent, an issue of active growth versus dormancy.

One Allium species that has foliage and flowers quite clearly delineated, is
the eastern American A. tricoccum, otherwise known as "ramps". This is a
shade plant with broad lily-of-the-valley like leaves in spring. The foliage
dries up, but in mid summer (July) naked flower stems reach 8-10" (20-25 cm)
topped with nice white flowers. Where it grows natively, it's supposed to grow by
the acre. In my dryish garden, a single bulb has grown for 16 years, always
showing fresh spring flowers, but this year was the second time it ever bloomed
in all those years! Here's a "ok" photo showing the July bloom head.

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

There are other alliums that produce foliage and stems in spring and into
early summer... then the whole affair goes dormant... or at least gives the
appearance of doing so. Specifically, Allium cupanii and A. hirtovaginatum; both
Mediterranean species, come to mind. They grow in the spring, and produce
sheathed buds on top of short stalks that are so thin (same thickness as the
stem) that they can hardly be discerned from the stems. Sitting there now (in
early August), looking like brown, dried lifeless stalks about 4-8" tall (10-20
cm), the stems are actually quite alive, and will "miraculously" emerge soon
and come into late summer flowering, quite leafless and utterly interesting.
While not showy, the quaint late summer or autumn blooms are dainty, surprising,
and leafless.

Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
==============================================

alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western
american alpines, iris, plants of all types!