Flora-Fauna

Allium sannineum  Gombault

(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, Mouterde, vol. 1, p. 272, pl. LXXXV nº 4)

• Bulb – small (≈ 1 cm in diameter), ovoid, surrounded by regularly reticulate, fibrous tunics; often produces bulbils.

• Stem – slender and flexuous, up to 10–20 cm tall; becomes distinctly striate when dried.

• Leaves – filiform, fistulous and striate, equalling or slightly exceeding the stem length.

• Spathe – membranous, ovate, bilobed, briefly acuminate and shorter than the umbel.

• Inflorescence – umbel spherical, dense, 1–2 cm across; pedicels very short.

• Perianth – cylindric‑campanulate, blue‑violet; tepals c. 5 mm long, elliptic, obtuse to sub‑acute, scabrid along the keel.

• Stamens & Style – filaments slightly exserted; the anther‑bearing median tooth is as long as the lateral teeth; style protrudes beyond the stamens.

• Flowering period – June to August.

• Local distribution – confined to Lebanon between Jabal Kneissé and the foot of Jabal Sannine.

• Native range – endemic to Lebanon.