Mark McDonough wrote, > >From Jane McGary bulbs received in 2003, this was the first year > Ornithogalum sphaerocarpum. ... the 3' tall wands of green > white-edged flowers >I have since moved the plants to an open area among my allium >garden; the 2 bulbs are rather large. Only 5 "sphaerocarps" are >setting seed. Doing Google searches I see this species sometimes >listed as Ornithogalum pyrenaicum ssp. sphaerocarpum. Does any know >the current taxonomic status? Is this species really that slow >growing (thus not a weedy spreader) to be considered a safe and >desirable Orni?. Flora Europaea has Ornithogalum sphaerocarpum at species rank. It does resemble O. pyrenaicum quite closely just to look at. It doesn't increase very fast by offsets. I don't think O. pyrenaicum offsets heavily either, but it does self-sow in the garden. However, it is such a tall, slender thing, with modest amounts of basal foliage, that it fits in well among mid-sized perennials such as peonies. O. pyrenaicum can be whitish or quite green, or even yellowish. Speaking of FLora Europaea, I just got a copy of Flora Europaea check-list and chromosome index, compiled by D. M. Moore (Cambridge University Press, new ed. 2009). It is a crummy-looking and expensive paperback, but very useful. It gives the taxonomic names, authorities,and chromosome numbers with indication of the country where the specimen was collected, and also citation referring to a very shorthand-style bibliography at the back of the book. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA