Family |
Amaryllidaceae
Allium rotundum
L.
Allium rotundum L.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. LXXXII nº 4; 1966)
Description
Life-form & habit : Robust, bulbous perennial leek; scape erect, 30 – 80 cm, giving the plant a tall, graceful stance.
Bulb : Ovoid, 1 – 3 cm in diameter, silver- to brown-grey; outer tunics membranous, sometimes splitting into coarse fibres, often carrying a few bulbils.
Stem (scape) : Cylindrical, smooth, leaf-clad only above mid-height.
Leaves : Broadly linear to linear-lanceolate, acute, usually shorter than the scape.
Spathe : Single (rarely double) valve, briefly acuminate and shorter than the inflorescence.
Inflorescence : Dense, sub-globose umbel up to c. 3 cm across; pedicels mostly shorter than the flowers and unequal, the outer being the shortest.
Perianth : About 5 mm, ovate-pyramidal; tepals connivent, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse to slightly acute, pink to purplish (occasionally whitish) and scabrous at least along the keel.
Stamens : Equal to the perianth and usually hidden by it; inner filaments end in a short median tooth flanked by longer lateral points.
Flowering and habitat
Flowering period : May – July.
Habitat : Disturbed soils—cultivated fields, fallows and roadside margins.
Distribution
Distribution in Lebanon & Syria : Frequent from Abey and Douma to Jabal Barouk, Bcharré, Sofar, Jabal Sannine, the Cedars, Zahlé, Rayak, Rachaya and Ouadi el-Harir, with additional stations in Aleppo, Bloudane, Madaya and the Jabal as-Suwaida highlands.
Native range : Southern Europe and Western Asia.