Other Bulbs from Kazakhstan

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My previous blog on Kazakhstan concentrated on the tulips I saw so this time I will concentrate on representatives of the other families of bulbs that grow there.

Right up at the snow line, we found a member of the onion family, allium atrosanguineum, although it was still only in bud.

Growing just outside the city of Almaty is anemone almatensis with distinctive red colouring on the backs of the petals

Corydalis is a large family of small perennials, many of which grow from small tubers. We saw three on the trip including corydalis ledebouriana

Another bulb in flower right up at the snowline was crocus alatavicus. This grew in huge fields just outside our final accommodation

A relative of the winter aconite was eranthis longistipitata. It needs very dry conditions and is rarely for sale

This is fritillaria stenanthera, one of three fritillaries we saw in the mountains in the west of the country. Some botanists, including our local plant expert, have separated them into a new family called rhinopetalum

Gagea is another huge family of small plants, often with miniscule flowers. This is gagea minutiflora

We saw several iris but the one that impressed us most was iris alberti. It generally flowers a little later than our visit but we did find one or two in bloom in sheltered corners. Whole sides of mountains turn blue when they are all out

Scilla puschkinioides will grow quite happily in British gardens and is available from specialised bulb growers

• 2 Nov, 2008
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