That’s right, it’s another installment of Doug and Megan’s brown-thumb show, “what plant is this?”
Today’s entry is about four feet tall, slender, green, smoothshaven, with a swollen head and spike hair. We have a bunch of them.
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on July 2, 2008 at 12:56 pm Megan wrote:
I’ve heard garlic. I hope so!
on July 2, 2008 at 6:05 pm Tom wrote:
Wow, those are strange. I think you’re on to something, Megan — if they’re not garlic, they could certainly be related. Do they smell like anything? Are the bulbs layered (in other words, do they feel or look like they’re going to unfold at some point)? Not like I will have an answer if you answer all my questions, but I’m intrigued — you guys get stranger random plants out there than we do here.
on July 2, 2008 at 9:33 pm kip wrote:
Yes, definitely an Allium, of which garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, etc. are all members. This looks more like one of the more ornamental varieties, though - a. christophi or a. gigantum (or not!). Whatever they are, they look healthy!
on July 2, 2008 at 11:12 pm molly bradley wrote:
so, the garlic bulb part grows that far above the ground?
i’m interested in the outcome.
hey doug, will you please tell megan to call me?
also, nice cat pictures. how many times has that damn fish run off now?
on July 3, 2008 at 8:52 am Megan wrote:
No, the part above ground is a flower, not the bulb.
The garden seems to be an herb and fruit/vegetable garden — lots of strawberries, oregano, celery — so I’m hoping it’s garlic we can eat.
Are you at work, Molly?
on July 3, 2008 at 9:47 am molly bradley wrote:
now i am. i wrote that post last night.
call me at work! that’d be great.
we’re trying to grow edible things too but the earwigs are eating everyrthing.
on July 3, 2008 at 10:14 am molly bradley wrote:
megan, where are you?
on July 3, 2008 at 6:25 pm tvp wrote:
Megan: I had my mom look at it (she’s a green thumb) and said it looks a lot like garlic, but probably isn’t garlic. She couldn’t identify it as allium but it makes me think kip is right. Even if it isn’t garlic, it’s sure to be edible.
on July 3, 2008 at 11:05 pm Doug wrote:
OK, Tad and Kip, you guys have me convinced we need to try eating some. If the blog suddenly goes dark, please call 911. Well, wait a month to be sure it’s not just the usual randomness.
on July 6, 2008 at 8:40 am Lynn Bradley wrote:
They look like fig garlic to me.
on July 6, 2008 at 4:52 pm George Siede wrote:
I sent a couple of these photos to a biologist friend of mine and this was his reply:
OK, let me find my botanist hat (dusty and waaaay back in the closet). I believe this is an ornamental Allium (the genus that includes onions). Like onion, flowers, leaves and bulb are probably all edible, but it is really grown for the big globular flower cluster. I’m not sure what the exact species is (maybe A. giganteum??), but once the flowers fully open, comparison with the Alliums available at on-line garden supply sites should help you confirm the identity.
Xorge