On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 15:00:38 -0800, Adam Schneider
wrote:


We just moved into our new house in Portland in July of 2004, so
everything that happens in our yard is new to us. You guys were
helpful in identifying our autumn-flowering cherry tree last fall
(which is STILL blooming, by the way), so I've returned with another
mystery...

All around the front of our house -- under the arbor vitae, the
rhododendrons, the Japanese maple, the hydrangea, and elsewhere --
there are plants coming up. They look like they're some kind of bulbs,
because of the shape of the leaves, the depth underground from which
they come (I dug down 8 inches with a trowel and couldn't find the
roots), and the fact that there was no trace of them late last summer,
and some of them are growing in places that will be 100% shaded once
the Japanese maple's leaves come in.

Having come from Zone 4 (MN), I don't know what to make of stuff
vigorously popping out of the ground in January! Hell, maybe they're
just weeds (but if that were the case, I'd think they'd be more
widespread than just around the front yard).

I took some pictures and posted them he
http://adamschneider.net/misc/mysterybulb.html

Can someone who knows about bulbs and the West Coast take a look and
tell me what we're dealing with here?


Thanks!

Adam

Looks like something in the Amaryllidaceae; without seeing it bloom,
all we can do is make guesses from things that would be commonly
planted, would tend to naturalize in your area, and would be up this
early.

Just a wild guess, it could be Galanthus (Snowdrop). It naturalizes
and spreads like crazy in moist gardens in the West. Once it blooms,
you can make a better ID.

--
Chris Green