Jane, you mentioned "tumbleweed" dispertion. Is this a mechanism used by the drumstick Alliums? It would explain their inflorescenses and the fact that they typically free themselves from the bulb before they are ripe. Perhaps to start a journey and release ripe seed while underway? This would answer one of those garden puzzles that has nuzzled in the back of my brain for some years. Jamie V. Cologne > They would get VERY dry if they just lay on the open ground, of course, but > many Western American geophytes seem to disperse their seed (e.g., by > "tumbleweed" inflorescences) so that it will blow into crevices, where > presumably the seed would sift down and be somewhat protected from drying > as well as from seed-eating birds and animals.