Description
(this stock was formerly misidentified and offered as A. paniculatum AH.0129 – this was a misapplied name only, the illustration, description and collector’s number are all correct. The two species are not synonyms but both belong to a group of approximately 10 late-summer and early-autumn flowering species within the Codonoprasum section. They all have flowers with whiteish or greenish-brown colours, but are subtly different in flower shape, dimensions as well as habitat and foliage features.
A. tardans is a Cretan endemic, found in Central Crete, at 1500m. It is only 15-20 cm tall bearing a small cluster of short-pedicelled flowers. These are never fully pendant but open widely with maturity – all this making it a distinctive plant
The flkowers are perfect little bells with a pale background colour and these are tipped with copper. They are borne in late summer and early autumn. Each flower is borne on a hanging pedicel, with up to 50 in each head, itself carried on a 25-50 cm tall stem. The flowers have a very faint smell of wintergreen (‘backrub’) when you are really close to, by which I mean just 1-2 cm away!
Subtle in colouring and not invasive this is an excellent garden subject originally found on the south coast of Crete. Makes its leaves in autumn but flowers in July and August.
