Family |
Amaryllidaceae
Allium libani
Boiss.
Leb. Syr.
Allium libani Boiss.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. LXXXVIII nº 1; 1966)
Life‑form & habit : Bulbous perennial mountain onion forming a low tuft; scape short and stout, only a few centimetres taller than the foliage.
Bulb : Nearly spherical, 1 – 3 cm in diameter; inner tunics white and hyaline, outer tunics grey‑ to dark‑brown.
Stem (scape) : Thick, largely subterranean up to the leaves, which lie close together and spread flat on the ground.
Leaves : 3 – 4, lanceolate, flat and slightly incurved, the margin narrowly cartilaginous; blades over‑topped by the umbel by just a few centimetres.
Spathe : Two to three valves, sometimes fused for much of their length; slightly shorter than the umbel.
Inflorescence : Dense, hemispherical umbel bearing 20 – 50 flowers on sub‑equal pedicels.
Perianth : White (turning yellowish when dry), 5 – 6 mm long; tepals connate at the base, lanceolate, acute, occasionally with a faint reddish band on the back.
Stamens & style : Filaments broadly triangular and united at the base; style clearly longer than the stamens.
Flowering period : May – June.
Habitat & elevation : Rocky montane slopes and clearings in the cedar zone of Mount Lebanon and the Anti‑Lebanon range.
Local distribution : Cedar forests of Maʿasser ech‑Chouf, Jabal Kneissé, environs of Beskinta, Hasroun and Qornet es‑Saouda in Mount Lebanon; summit ridges of Jabal Hermon, Bloudane and Talaʿat Moussa in Syria.
Native range : Levantine endemic confined to high elevations of Lebanon and adjacent western Syria; low‑altitude Palestinian records are considered misidentifications of A. rothii.