Family |
Amaryllidaceae
Allium cassium
Boiss.
Leb. Tur. Cyp.
Allium cassium Boiss.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. LXXXVIII nº 6; 1966)
Life‑form & habit : Slender mountain onion; scape flexible, 10 – 25 cm tall, leafy only near the base, often bending gracefully in exposed sites.
Bulb : Small, ovoid‑globose; tunics grey and distinctly honey‑combed with round pits.
Description
Stem : Thin, flexuous, smooth; subtended by a short subterranean portion continuous with the bulb.
Leaves : Very narrow, linear blades usually matching the stem in length; normally glabrous but in var. * hirtellum Boiss.* stem and leaves bear spreading hairs.
Spathe : Two acuminate valves about half the length of the pedicels; they split early and persist as narrow points.
Inflorescence : Loose umbel of 7 – 12 out‑facing flowers; pedicels thread‑like, c. three times the perianth length.
Perianth : 4 – 5 mm, pure white aging pink; tepals translucent‑lanceolate, very blunt at first but becoming involute and apparently acute after anthesis.
Stamens & style : Filaments united and broadened at the base, then tapering; about two‑thirds the perianth length. Anthers ovate, yellow; style slightly exserted beyond the stamens.
Capsule : Brown, hemispherical and appreciably shorter than the persistent perianth.
Flowering and habitat
Flowering period : May – July.
Habitat & elevation : Rocky slopes and crags in the upper montane belt.
Distribution
Native range : Eastern Mediterranean: Cilicia (Turkey), Mount Cassius and the Syrian coastal range, and scattered high‑mountain stations in Lebanon (Cedars of Ehden, Jabal Jrad, Laqlouq, Nebaʿ el‑ʿAssal, Slenfé, etc.).