Description
A tiny Allium, 7 cm tall with white flowers, each petal with a central, purple vein. There are 5-10, cup-shaped blooms in each head. The leaves are wonderfully distinctive and decorative, 2-3 mm wide and strongly coiled with fine white hairs. Leaves like this are a water-saving adaption often seen in South African species (though Allium circinatum is European) and it occurs in bulbs which are normally found in very hot, dry and sunny habitats .
This is lovely but it is so small that its beauty can only really be appreciated in a pot where 5-6 bulbs will fit easily in a 12cm pot . A loam-based compost with good drainage is all that is needed and it will flower throughout March and April in such conditions, though the leaves are in condition from September onward to May.
Stock originally traceable to coastal dunes in Northern Crete.
