Relatives

Allium affine Ledeb. - Affined onion.

Taxonomic position.

Family Alliaceae J.Agardh genus Allium L.

Synonyms.

A. margaritaceum var. affine Regel, A. margaritaceum var. scabrum Regel, A. mishtschenkoanum Grossh.

Morphology and biology.

Perennial, herbaceous, bulbous plant. Bulb is ovate, coated in gray, papery skin. Stem is (20) 30-80 cm in length. Leaves, 3-5 in number, are fistular, semicylindrical, grooved, with scabrous surface. Umbel is dense, polyanthous, globular or, very rarely, hemispheric. Tepals are about 4 mm long, whitish, with an expressly visible green vein, smooth, obtuse. Filaments are 1/4 to 1/3 longer than tepals.

Distribution.

Caucasus (Daghestan, Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia, Talysh), Iran (north), Iraq (north), Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

Ecology.

Grows on dry mountain flanks.

Utilization and economic value.

Used for food (vegetable) and as a source of vitamins. Useful qualities of this species have as of yet been poorly explored.

Reference Citations:

Grossheim, A.A. 1940. Flora of the Caucasus. Baku: Publishing House AzFAS. V.2: 123. (In Russian)
Vvedensky, A.I. 1935. Onion - Allium L. In: Komarov V.L., ed. Flora of the USSR. Leningrad: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences. V.4: 112-280. (In Russian)

© I.G. Chukhina, T.A. Sinitsyna.

 

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