Family |
Amaryllidaceae
Allium neapolitanum
Cirillo
Allium neapolitanum Cyr.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. XC nº 1; 1966)
Description
Life-form & habit : Bulbous perennial geophyte; scape triangular in cross-section, erect, 20 – 60 cm tall, clearly overtopping the foliage.
Bulb : Globose, clothed in pale membranous tunics.
Stem (scape) : Triangular, leafy only at the very base, otherwise smooth and green.
Leaves : Strap-shaped to broadly linear blades that remain shorter than the scape.
Spathe : Single, ovate valve, acuminate, far shorter than the umbel.
Inflorescence : Many-flowered umbel, fastigiate to gently convex, 5 – 8 cm across.
Perianth : Pure white, campanulate-spreading, about 10 mm long and wide; tepals oval-elliptic, very obtuse.
Stamens & style : Filaments connate at the base and only half as long as the perianth; style projects conspicuously beyond the stamens.
Flowering and habitat
Flowering period : February – April.
Habitat : Fields, rocky ground and stone walls.
Distribution
Local distribution (Lebanon) : Ras Bayada, Tyre, Saïda, Khaldé, Beirut, Nahr el-Kelb, Nahr Ibrahim, ʿAbey, ʿAley, Mkallès, Beit Méri, Deir Omar, Kaftine, Hasbaya, and the Cedars zone.
Native range : Southern Europe (absent from North Africa), Egypt, Palestine–Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.