This really is a great Allium. While at K-State I made an effort to relocate this in the wild. I worked at the herbarium and found about a dozen specimens of it on file, most of which were historical (>30 years old) and also mostly mis-ID'd as nuttallii. Over two spring seasons I visited all these locations. The first year was a complete bust with zero of the visited sites still extant. It was all corn and wheat thanks to the SAD. I did find a few Allium drummondii sites though. The next spring I managed to find one site growing with Tradescantia tharpii in a quickly draining sand on an east facing slope. Though the sand drained quickly it still held a lot of moisture in the abscence of rain.
Two weeks later I went further west to Barton County and found a site by nose first and then saw the plants growing in standing water flowering in clumps of about 20-30 bulbs. The soil was black loess that is a wetland in the spring and nearly bone dry in the summer. These are the plants that I sent out to numerous people and are the ones Jim mentions. The scent is beautiful as is the plant. Sadly, Mine seem to have dissappeared here in my Tennessee garden, but drummondii is till multiplying.
Aaron
From: Jim McKenney <jamesamckenney@verizon.net>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2015 10:11 AM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Allium perdulce
Thanks, Jim Waddick, for boosting one of my favorite plants. And unfortunately for me, it's not one I grow. And you are so right about the scent: that's why I will jump if I ever see plants or seed offered. Seed has been offered on the NARGS exchange in the past, but my bid was unsuccessful.I learned about this plant years ago when I saw it at a rock garden show. It's been on my want list since.
Jim McKenneyMontgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where there is something in bloom every way I look.
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