Short, stubby flower stems, seldom more than 7-10 cm tall carry an inverted conical to rounded umbel of broadly funnel-shaped, bright red-pink flowers. These are held above attractive, long, ovate, blue-green leaves margined with red, which protrude from small, white-coated bulbs, which in the trade are often sold for between ten and fifteen pounds each! It is not surprisingly a very rare and most decorative little species, perfect in a pot or even under alpine glass, though it is happy also outside, as long as provided with a fertile, loam-based soil, good drainage and a dryish summer rest. It is a central Asian species named by Regel as long ago as 1875 from Turkmenistan where it was said to have been found at between 3,000 and 11,000 feet altitude, although it is now known to range throughout the Pamir mountain systems. Few seeds collected.
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