Family |
Amaryllidaceae
Allium carmeli
Boiss.
Leb. Syr. Pal.
Allium carmeli Boiss.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. LXXXIX nº 3; 1966)
Life‑form & habit : Robust, deep‑rooted mountain onion; solitary, erect scape may reach or exceed 1 m, giving the plant a tall, graceful aspect.
Bulb : Ovoid, wrapped in fairly thick, white membranous tunics, only slightly wider than the scape that follows it.
Stem : Rigid, straight, glabrous, carrying foliage along its first third.
Leaves : 3 – 4 per plant, linear, long, folded and shallowly channelled, shorter than the stem; both sheath and blade hispid on both faces with soft, backward‑pointing hairs.
Spathe : Two to three ovate valves that taper to a point; valves are shorter than the umbel and split early.
Inflorescence : Many‑flowered hemispherical umbel, 3 – 5 cm across. Pedicels nearly equal, brown, three to four times longer than the individual flowers.
Perianth : White, 5 – 7 mm long; tepals lanceolate, obtuse, concave and without evident mid‑veins.
Stamens & style : Filaments slightly exceed the perianth; anthers elliptic, attached at mid‑length; style stout and clearly exserted.
Flowering period : May – June.
Habitat : Deep, well‑developed soils on lower mountain slopes.
Native range : Endemic to the Levant—recorded in Lebanon between Tyre and Jouaya, Kfar Houné near Jezzine, Kafr ʿAqab near Baskinta, Machghara and ʿAytanit, and in neighbouring Palestine.