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NOTHOSCORDUM INODORUM

Now that is a mouthful to use as a heading isn’t it? I wondered for years what these rather attractive white flowers are called until I happened to come across a reference to them in Common Weeds in South Africa by Mayda Henderson and Johan G. Anderson. This book, published by the Department of Agricultural Technical Services in 1966, has proved to be a boon to me so often.  According to the authors, Nothoscordum inodorum is a native of North America and is commonly known as Fragrant False Garlic in English and as Basterknoffel in Afrikaans. Other sources claim the plant originated in South America. It is also known as Nothoscordum borbonicum.

Another common name for the plant is Onion Weed, which I was to discover soon after our arrival in the Eastern Cape. These plants had seeded themselves all over our garden and I was taken aback when an elderly man, visiting us for the first time, exclaimed “Onion weed! What a pest!” as he began vigorously pulling them out of a narrow bed next to our front steps. Here some have taken over a flower pot.

What cannot be disputed is that this is an upright herb with a main underground bulb with many small bulbs attached to it – making these plants very difficult to remove ‘cleanly’ for some of these tiny bulbs tend to get left behind in the soil.  The leaves grow from the base and are linear, long, strap-like, smooth, and are mid- to dark green and glossy.

The long cylindrical flower stalks grow from the centre of the plant.

Here is a flower about to open.

The bell-like flowers appear in a small cluster at the tip of each stalk.

As I have discovered, it is a common weed around here, seen in gardens, along footpaths, in disturbed sites, as well as growing along roadsides. During this long drought period, I am pleased to have anything growing in my garden and simply don’t have the heart to set about trying to eradicate these – at least while they are flowering!

25 thoughts on “NOTHOSCORDUM INODORUM”

  1. Looks a lot like our Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) which flowers in late summer. Similarly, it self-sows readily and must be dug out as opposed to pulled, which will leave bulblets behind. I cut the spent flower heads off to prevent seeding, which helps. But as you noted, it is a good drought tolerant flower and en masse, makes a beautiful sight. And of course, the bees love them, reason enough to keep them around.

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