Jane Hendrix recently posted an image of Hesperocallis undulata http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/temperate/index.php?gal=AlpenPix&genus=&id=3101 . She mentioned that this bulb of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts is also called the Ajo Lily. Ajo, of course, means garlic in Spanish. Unfamiliar with the plant, I have just looked it up in the Flora of N America. It seems that the bulb has a garlic flavor, but the scent of the flower is sweet. Has anyone on this list sniffed it? Or eaten the bulb? Hesperocallis is a one-species genus. In the FNA (vol. 26, published in 2002), it was in Liliaceae, but it is now in Asparagaceae.
Does anyone grow Hesperocallis? If seed is ever available, please sign me up! Seeing Hesperocallis with Abronia villosa in Jane's photos makes me daydream that I might be able to grow it. Abronia latifolia, a yellow-flowered seashore plant, grows well here in rainy SW British Columbia. Paige Woodward [email protected] Manager, Alpenpix, the image gallery of Alpine-L http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/temperate/?gal=alpenpix _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
