Family |
Amaryllidaceae
Allium phanerantherum
Boiss. & Hausskn.
Allium phanerantherum Boiss. & Hausskn.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. LXXXIII nº 6; 1966)
Life-form & habit : Bulbous perennial mountain onion, remarkably variable in stature; individual plants range from stocky tufts barely 20 cm tall to graceful specimens exceeding 1 m.
Bulb : Ovoid, robust, typically 3 – 4 cm in diameter (sometimes smaller); outer tunics brownish-grey, reticulate.
Stem (scape) : Erect, terete, 20 – 100 + cm, faintly striate; foliage reaches to about one-third of its height.
Leaves : 3 – 5, fistulose and strongly striate, the blades long-attenuate into bristle-like tips; sheaths likewise prominently striate; leaves wither during anthesis.
Spathe : Soon torn into several small, triangular spathelles that remain at the umbel base, often hidden by the flowers.
Inflorescence (umbel) : Variable in size and flower number—well-developed umbels reach 4 cm across, but many are under 2 cm; pedicels thread-like, the central ones slightly longer (1 – 2 cm).
Perianth : Oblong-tubulose, slightly leathery; tepals 5 – 6 mm, obtuse, white (sometimes greenish or tinged rose at the tip) with an umbilicate base.
Stamens & style : Inner filaments tricuspid; the short median tooth bears a long, linear yellow- to brown-purple anther and projects beyond the tepals, while the lateral teeth are still longer; style conspicuously exserted.
Capsule : Small and rounded but far over-topped by the persistent tepals at maturity.
Flowering period : June – July.
Habitat & elevation : Scattered on sunny, rocky limestone slopes and terraces, mainly in the mid-mountain belt (c. 900 – 1 600 m).
Distribution : Localised Levantine endemic. In Lebanon recorded at Aley, Qrayé, Broummana, above Tannourine, Jabal Zahrour and Sofar; in Syria known from slopes above ʿArné on Mount Hermon.