Jim wrote: "Several years ago a then newly purchased pot of nursery stock from a nursery south of here sprouted some interesting foliage. My first guess was Habranthus robustus. Years passed and the plant in question never bloomed, but it did produce foliage yearly. This year if finally bloomed and produced a nice surprise: it's a Nothoscordum, a genus I had not grown." > >Well, this story sounds familiar. Last year I bought a pot of Barnardia (Scilla) japonica from a nursery in SC said to contain 3 bulbs. There was some growth on and off through the year, and I kept it protected from any frosts. This spring strappy leaves burst forth throughout the pot. The leaves resembled Habranthus. It recently started flowering with sweetly-scented flowers. Barnardia is supposed to flower in the fall and be dormant in the summer. > > >As I pondered what was going on, small almost tubular bright green leaves started to sprout from the base of the Habranthus-looking leaves. I wrote to the nursery and was told that the invader might be Allium cernuum. I decided it couldn't be that since the leaves had no onion smell when crushed, and the flowers did not nod. > > >After looking at pictures and descriptions I believe it was the dreaded Nothoscordum gracile. In taking the rootball apart I found irregular-shaped masses of bulbs greatly resembling pictures of N. gracile, and was able to separate out a few small different-looking (symmetrical) bulbs connected to the small foliage, which I hope turn out to be the Barnardia, although I wouldn't think they'd be putting out foliage now. > > >I destroyed the presumed Nothoscordum. Links to pictures: > > >http://flickr.com/photos/kanapahalew/… > > > >http://flickr.com/photos/kanapahalew/… > > > >Jonathan Lubar >Alachua/Gainesville Florida, z8b/9a >_______________________________________________ >pbs mailing list >pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > >