Allium libani

{{Short description|Species of plant in the family Amaryllidaceae}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}

{{Speciesbox

|status = NT

|status_system = IUCN3.1

|status_ref={{cite iucn |author=Semaan, M. |date=2017 |title=Allium libani |volume=2017 |page=e.T13144552A18613051 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T13144552A18613051.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}

| name = Lebanese garlic

| image = PikiWiki Israel 3351 Allium libani.jpg

| taxon = Allium libani

| parent = Allium subg. Melanocrommyum

| authority = Boiss.

}}

Allium libani (Lebanese garlic ثوم لبناني ) is a species of wild bulbous plant geophyte of the genus Allium, belonging to the family of Amaryllidaceae. Allium libani is endemic to the Middle East in Lebanon and Syria.{{cite web | url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/details/species/id/9763738 | title=Allium libani Boiss. (accepted name) | publisher=Catalogue of Life | date=15 August 2013 | accessdate=28 August 2013}}{{Cite web |url=http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?action=specie&specie=ALLLIB |title=Flora of Israel Online |access-date=30 March 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140330013718/http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?action=specie&specie=ALLLIB |archive-date=30 March 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}

Taxonomy

Allium libani was described by Pierre Edmond Boissier and published in Diagnoses plantarum orientalium novarum 13: 26, in 1854.{{cite web | url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/100144220 | title=Allium libani Boiss. | publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden | work=Tropicos.org | accessdate=28 August 2013 | author=Missouri Botanical Garden}}{{cite web | url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=295898 | title=Allium libani Boiss., Diagn. Pl. Orient. 13: 26 (1854). | publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families | accessdate=28 August 2013 | author=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew}}{{ThePlantList|id=kew-295898|taxon=Allium libani |authority=Boiss.|accessdate=2 August 2013}}

Etymology

;Allium : old generic name. The plants of this genus were known by both the Romans as the Greeks . However, it seems that the term has an origin in Celtic which means "to burn", referring to the strong pungent smell of the plant. One of the first to use this name for botanical purposes was the French naturalist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656 - 1708).Giacomo Nicolini, Enciclopedia Botanica Motta. Volume one, Milan, Federico Motta Editore, 1960, p. 76.

;libani : epithet, refers to its geographic location in Lebanon.

Description

Allium libani is deciduous. The simple leaves are basal. They are broadly linear with entire margins and parallel venation. The scape characteristic of the family is essentially absent, so the umbel appears to be formed at ground level The flowers of Allium libani are white. Fruits are loculicidal capsules.{{cite web | url=http://rareplants.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=2878&strPageHistory=related | title=Allium libani | work=rareplants.co.uk/ | accessdate=28 August 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330124910/http://rareplants.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=2878&strPageHistory=related | archive-date=30 March 2014 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}

Cultivation

The plants prefer a sunny situation on dry to moderately moist soil. The substrate should be sandy-loamy, gritty-loamy or sandy clay soil. They tolerate temperatures down to -7 °C

References