Allium schubertii
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| taxon = Allium schubertii
| parent = Allium subg. Melanocrommyum
| image = Allium Schubertii.jpg
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| authority =Zucc.
|synonyms=
|synonyms_ref=
}}
Allium schubertii, which has various common names including ornamental onion, flowering onion, tumbleweed onion and Persian onion, is a species of monocotyledonous flowering plant. It belongs to the onion and garlic genus, in the subfamily Allioideae of the family Amaryllidaceae. It occurs in the Levant and Libya.
Description
Allium schubertii is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows to around 50 cm tall and lives for 2–5 years. It grows from an underground bulb, and produces vivid green, strap-like leaves in the spring. The leaves die back before it blooms. The flowers consist of 50 or more star-shaped, mauve florets on stems of differing lengths producing a starburst effect which can be up to 30 cm across.{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/59709/Allium-schubertii/Details?returnurl=%2Fplants%2Fsearch-results%3Fform-mode%3Dtrue%26context%3Dl%253den%2526q%253d%252523all%2526sl%253dplantForm%26query%3Dallium%26aliaspath%3D%252fplants%252fsearch-results | title = Allium schubertii | accessdate = 2016-11-26 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society}} The desiccated flower heads eventually break off the dead stems and, blown around by the desert winds, cast their seeds abroad as they tumble around.{{cite web | url = http://www.ahs.org/uploads/pdfs/OrnAlliums_TAG_SO14.pdf |title = Ornamental Alliums | accessdate = 2016-11-26 | publisher = American Horticultural Society}}
Distribution
Allium schubertii is found in Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Libya but grown as an ornamental elsewhere.{{Cite web |url=http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?action=specie&specie=ALLSCH |title=Flora of Israel Online |access-date=2014-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330232645/http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?action=specie&specie=ALLSCH |archive-date=2014-03-30 |url-status=dead }}[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do;jsessionid=94ED4F88A29EE6F5507446017EEDCF22?name_id=296546 Kew Checklist of Selected Plant Families]Zuccarini, Joseph Gerhard. 1843. Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 3: 234.Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.
Cultivation
Allium schubertii has flower and seed heads that have been compared to fireworks exploding, and both are dried and used in flower arranging, and can even be sprayed with decorative paint and used as Christmas tree decorations.{{cite web | url = https://www.sarahraven.com/flowers/bulbs/alliums/allium_schubertii.htm | title = Allium schuberti | accessdate = 2016-11-27 | publisher = Sarah Raven}} The American Horticultural Society recommends growing these bulbs in AHS planting zones 5-8. It appears, however, that they may be even cold-hardier than that. This depends on the heaviness of the soil: in heavier soil that retains water in winter, the survival of these plant is significantly decreased.{{cite web | url = http://landscaping.about.com/od/floweringbulbs/p/Allium-schubertii.htm | title = Allium Schubertii: Ornamental Onion That Looks Like Fireworks | accessdate = 2016-11-16 | publisher = about.com | archive-date = 2016-11-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161127215016/http://landscaping.about.com/od/floweringbulbs/p/Allium-schubertii.htm | url-status = dead }}
References
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Category:Flora of Lebanon and Syria