Allium paradoxum
{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Few-flowered garlic
| image = Allium paradoxum 26-04-2010 545.jpg
| image_caption =
| taxon = Allium paradoxum
| parent = Allium subg. Amerallium
|synonyms=* Scilla paradoxa M.Bieb.
- Allium paradoxum var. normale Stearn
}}
Allium paradoxum, the few-flowered garlic{{BSBI 2007 |accessdate=17 October 2014 |df=dmy-all}} or few-flowered leek, is an Asian species of wild onion in the Amaryllis family. It is native to mountainous regions of Iran, Caucasus, and Turkmenistan and invasive in Europe.
Description
Allium paradoxum is a herbaceous perennial growing from a small solitary bulb to about {{convert|20|–|40|cm|in|abbr=on}} in height. It has much narrower leaves, from {{convert|5|to|25|mm|in|abbr=on}} wide, than Allium ursinum but a similar 'garlicky' smell. The flower stem is triangular in section. Most of the flowers are replaced by little bulbs or bulbils and the few (usually only one) proper flowers are white and hermaphrodite.{{cite web|title=Allium paradoxum - (M.Bieb.) G.Don.|url=http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Allium+paradoxum|publisher=Plants for a Future|accessdate=23 April 2013}}
Distribution
Allium paradoxum is native to mountainous regions of Iran, Caucasus, and Turkmenistan.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=296228 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11270240#page/273/mode/1up Marschall von Bieberstein, Friedrich August. 1819. Flora Taurico-Caucasica 3: 267-268] in Latin, as Scilla paradoxa[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46959395#page/84/mode/1up Don, George 1832. Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society 6: 72] description in Latin, commentary in EnglishKomarov, V.L. (ed.) (1935). Flora SSSR 4: 1-586. Izdatel'stov Akademii Nauk SSSR, Leningrad.Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) (2006). Conspectus Florae Caucasi 2: 1-466. Editio Universitatis Petropolitanae
It was introduced to the British Isles in 1823 and was first recorded in the wild there in 1863, near Edinburgh.{{cite journal |url=https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=plant/allium-paradoxum |title=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora, Allium paradoxum (Few-flowered garlic) |journal=Nature in Cambridgeshire |year=1993 |volume=35 |pages=67–75 |publisher=Biological Records Centre and Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland }} It is generally a lowland plant, and the highest record for Britain comes from Carter Bar at {{convert|375|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite journal |url=https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/allium-paradoxum |title=Allium paradoxum |journal=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora |year=1993 |volume=35 |pages=67–75 |accessdate=21 March 2020}} It is considered an invasive, non-native species in Europe. In England and Wales, the species is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act{{cite web|title=Plants listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act in England and Wales|url=http://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/INNS/invasive_non-native_plants_and_the_law/schedule9_england_wales/|publisher=Plantlife|accessdate=23 April 2013|year=2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430025548/http://plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/INNS/invasive_non-native_plants_and_the_law/schedule9_england_wales/|archive-date=30 April 2013|url-status=dead}} and as such, it is illegal to plant in the wild. The smell of the plant is particularly noticeable to a person who is approaching an area where it is growing.{{cite journal|title=Allium paradoxum (Few-flowered Garlic)| journal=Nature in Cambridgeshire | year=1993 | volume=35 | pages=67–75 |url=http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=plant/allium-paradoxum|publisher=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora|accessdate=23 April 2013}}
Habitat
It grows well in deciduous woodland habitats, forming a green carpet that can smother other native species such as bluebells and snowdrops.Lambion, J., Delvosalle, L. & Duvigneaud, J. (2004). Nouvelle flore de la Belgique du G. D. de Luxembourg, du Nord de la France et des régions voisines , ed. 5: 1-1167. Edition du Patrimoine du Jardin botanique national de Belgique It also grows in a variety of habitats including river banks, rough pasture, field edges, roadsides and wasteground.
Cuisine
The few-flowered leek is edible and can be eaten raw as well as made into dishes. It can also be used as a herb to flavour food, much in the same way as other wild garlics.{{cite web |url=https://www.wildfooduk.com/edible-wild-plants/few-flowered-garlic/ |title=Few-flowered garlic |publisher=WildFoodUK |accessdate=21 March 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX4T2ac4DG8&feature=youtu.be Few-flowered garlic video footage]
- {{PFAF|Allium paradoxum}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q163312}}