Asparagaceae

A steady stream of horticultural and garden design accolades can be found if one scans the gardening literature for black mondo grass or black turf-lily. Given that it’s one of the few plants I personally grow in my little balcony garden, the praise must be well-deserved!

Researching this species was difficult, since I was not sure which name to use. Until fairly recently, the flowering herb shown today was known as Ornithogalum tenuifolium. This is the label given on an early 19th century botanical illustration by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, and the name seems to have been valid until the current century. In […]