Regarding the photos posted of "Allium macranthum", I'm sorry to disappoint you Arnold, but that's not A. macranthum... it is surely a form of Allium senescens, a frequent imposter sent out under a variety of species names, although it's a nice enough allium in its own right. Allium macranthum is unmistakable, an Asian species sometimes compared to the American nodding onion, Allium cernuum, sharing the habit of florets suspended on long drooping pedicels. In Allium macranthum, the flowers are narrowly cylindrical... like little closed droplets with protruding stamens, the flowers held atop tall stems in loosely-flowered heads. Flower color ranges from pale pinkish to deep purplish-pink. It grows from forked fleshy white rhizomes that are quite unlike the horizonatal iris-like rhizomes attached to bulbs found in Allium senescens. I have posted a photo taken in a friend's garden last August 12, 2002. The plant was growing mixed in with lots of other plants, alliums, and weeds, and I didn't get a very good photograph, but I post this photo to give clear indication of the floral details to distinguish the species: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… I used to grow lots of this but have since lost it over the years... I let the area in which it was growing become too weedy and overgrown. This is a species that's very late to emerge in the spring, flowers in mid summer, and prefers moist humusy soil in part shade. It's a quiet yet lovely species, although a little bit tall and floppy, and for that reason, I prefer the North American nodding onion, Allium cernuum, for it's carefree culture and showier flowers. Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 ============================================== >> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ << alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western american alpines, iris, plants of all types!
