Wild flower ID please

[tarves57]

This plant has long thin leaves, unfortunately not shown in photo and seems to grow under trees. Can anyone name it or species family for me?

thanks
Susan

[steve_nova]

Hi Susan, it looks like a species of Allium. Note the cluster of bulbils at the base of the flower stalk among the bracts.

It also looks like a broad petalled form (perhaps) of Allium ursinum, sometimes called Wild garlic or Ramsons. The fact that it is flowering now would suggest that.

[steve_nova]

See what I mean about the petals of this form being much broader Closeup of flower (http://www.boga.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/html/Allium.ursinum.ho1.JPG) which may indicate that your plant is a different, but closely allied species. The leaves of A. ursinum are rather like a narrow leaved Hosta.

[Michael Frankis]

Allium paradoxum (Few-flowered Leek), an introduced species from the Caucasus Mts, widely naturalised in Britain.

A useful character is that the flower stem has a triangular cross-section, not round.

Michael

[steve_nova]

Thanks Michael, you beat me to it, though when I logged on just now, I still hadn't got round to id'ing it.

[Michael Frankis]

There's big patches of it in my local park - so I recognised it immediately

Michael

[Mike D]

Forget the ID - NICE PIC! Thanks for a nice one of the Few Flowered Leek which is possibly more common now because of the garden escapes/throw-outs.

[Brian Stone]

Looks like a very well executed photo. Is that a bit of fill-in flash there? Surely room for this in the Gallery. :t:

[tarves57]

Thanks Steve and Michael for the ID. I had looked through my wildflower "encyclopaedia" two or three times but could not find it. I did wonder if it was a domestic plant that had spread. After your IDing it as the Allium family, I found similar plants in my book which were obviously the same family, but there's no picture of allium paradoxum to compare. I'm going to have to get a better flower book. Thanks.

Brian and Mike, thanks for the comments on the photo. No fill flash. Perhaps it came out nicely because I was too lazy to change my lens to a smaller one. I was out looking for birds and had a long lens on, so I had to stand about 2m back from the plants.... which incidentally came out a lot nicer than the birds I got....8-) Is there a database for plants on BirdForum too? Or do you mean post to the gallery? I might do that, but I was a bit worried I had found an escapee from the garden.

[steve_nova]

I think any plant of interest can go into the gallery under the following heading in the upload box.

[Joern Lehmhus]

Hi Susan,

good photo!

the species Allium pardoxum is also naturalized in some areas in germany, for example Hannover.

The leaves can be used for cooking, for soups and as a spice like the leaves of Allium ursinum.

Jörn