Allium chamaemoly

dwarf garlic
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Species:	A. chamaemoly
Binomial name
Allium chamaemoly L.
Synonyms[1]
Allium chamaemoly var. littoralis (Jord. & Fourr.) Maire & Weiller Allium chamaemoly var. viridulum (Jord. & Fourr.) Maire & Weiller Allium columnae Bubani Saturnia cernua Maratti Saturnia chamaemoly (L.) Salisb. Saturnia etrusca Jord. & Fourr. Saturnia littoralis Jord. & Fourr. Saturnia rubrinervis Jord. & Fourr. Saturnia viridula Jord. & Fourr.

Allium chamaemoly, called dwarf garlic, is a species of garlic native to the Mediterranean region and cultivated elsewhere for its pretty flowers and potently aromatic bulbs. It is found in the wild in Spain (incl Balearic Is), France (incl Corsica), Malta, Italy (inc Sardinia + Sicily), Greece, the Balkans, Algeria, and Morocco.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Allium chamaemoly is a small plant growing from an underground bulb. Scape is very short or completely absent, so that the umbel forms at ground level. Tepals are white, usually with a purple midvein. Leaves are flat and grass-like, often with long white hairs.^[7]

Two formal botanical varieties are recognized:^[2]

• Allium chamaemoly subsp. chamaemoly - most of European species range but not North Africa
• Allium chamaemoly subsp. longicaulis Pastor & Valdés - Spain (incl Balearic Is), Algeria, Morocco

References

1. The Plant List
2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
3. Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.
4. Altervisea, Schede di Botanica, Allium chamaemoly
5. Maire, René Charles Joseph Ernest & Weiller, Marc. 1958. Flore d'Afrique du Nord 5: 286.
6. Wild Plants of Malta, dwarf garlic
7. Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 301.