Memories of Unknown Flowers

Memories of Unknown Flowers
by msabaye
23-May-2012
 

One thing I remember from traveling with my parents across Iran as a child was the view from the rear window. For endless hours, I watched the road we kept leaving behind, mesmerized by unfamiliar flowers on the backdrop of tall, brown mountains lining the roads. I never got to know the names of those flowers as I could never describe them properly. Perhaps, they weren't technically flowers at all.

Years later, when traveling in Fars Province, I came across the scene in this photo. I don't know the name of the flowers in this photo, or if they are indeed flowers. They are not the same those unknown flowers in my childhood memories, but they had the same effect on me as they did long ago. I wondered whether it was just me. So I thought I would share.

On the road from Shiraz to Kazeroon- 2000

Photo by Maria Sabaye

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msabaye

flower that you like is

by msabaye on Thu May 24, 2012 05:00 AM PDT

Thanks a lot. This is so helpful. After reading your comment, I thought of chive, you are right, there is definite similarity.

One of the flowers I used to see as a child had shiny, silver color petals with flat surfaces and very sharp, pointed tips. I never touched them but it seemed to me they were not soft or delicate like, say rose, but quite sturdy. They shone under the sun was brilliant, I presume because of their color. I have never seen anything like them.


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Jeesh Daram

flower that you like is called

by Jeesh Daram on Wed May 23, 2012 11:24 PM PDT

All Iranians should like this indigenous plant of Iran. It is called Allium aflatunense or Giant Persian Allium. It is in the same family as onions and you can easily find the bulbs in the United States too. If you want to plant it, do it early spring and plant several next to each other for esthetic effect. They look better in a group. Even regular onion and scallions bloom in similar fashion, but much smaller and generally in white color.

This happens to be one of my favorite flowers also.  Now, since you were wondering if this is what you have seen in childhood but not sure; I assume you were referring to globe thistles. They are also beautiful and bloom in blue. In Iran we used to have very large one of them in the wild. In today's Iran we mostly find empty plastic bottles and pizza boxes in the wild.

Good luck.

 


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