Yard Discovery...

This plant appeared in my yard this spring without my, ahem, assistance. At first I thought it was some kind of bulb someone planted, then as it grew it kind of resembled corn, and now it is starting to flower. It didn't look like a regular weed so I went ahead and let it go. The five or so separate stalks/individuals are now over 6 feet tall. The leaves are long and corn-like, alternating up the first 2-3 feet of each stalk. At the top of each stalk is a large bulb that is now starting to open, revealing a mass of tiny flower buds which are turning purple. I'm far from a green thumb, so the i.d. is beyond me. Thanks for any help.

 

Looks like an Allium.

 

Likely - pinch one of the leaves and see if it smells like an onion. If not, it's a close relative.

 

Definitely an allium, and at 6 ft tall probably in the Allium giganteum family:
http://www.brecks.com/product.asp?pn=68839&bhcd2=1182441268

Interesting that it put itself there. They do self-seed, though if they're named varieties they don't necessarily come true. Sometimes the flowerheads or seedheads are used ornamentally, so did you perhaps discard a flower arrangement or Christmas decoration there or something?

 

Allium giganteum is a species and not a family, of course. Appearance of heads at this stage would suggest something like garlic but 6 ft is a bit big for something like that. Does elephant garlic (a type of leek) get that tall?

 

Yes, it's garlic! We had the same thing come up when we moved into our has last year. Pull it up once it looks dead as a doornail, keep the garlic in your garage and it will last for months. Delicious!

 

Thanks all--I had never even considered the possibility of garlic...

 

Possibly Great-headed Garlic, Allium ampeloprasum -- a quite different species from true garlic, but with a somewhat similar flavor.

 

This also makes a great looking cut flower. It drys and looks great. The cloves are very mild. I grow mine in a mixture of perennials and they just come up die down and come up again. Bit like daffodils :)

Liz

 

Lol that's garlic! My grandma has loads of those in her garden.

 

Thanks all. I had been thrown off by the size of the plant--I had always thought garlic plants (and its cousins) were much smaller. From the flowers, it looks like it's Allium ampeloprasum after all. Now I guess I'll have to make use of it!