Allium chamaemoly explained

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.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

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.^[6]

Two formal botanical varieties are recognized:^[1]

• 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

Notes and References

1. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=295272 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
2. Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.
3. http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=allium+chamaemoly Altervisea, Schede di Botanica, Allium chamaemoly
4. Maire, René Charles Joseph Ernest & Weiller, Marc. 1958. Flore d'Afrique du Nord 5: 286.
5. http://www.maltawildplants.com/AMRY/Allium_chamaemoly.php Wild Plants of Malta, dwarf garlic
6. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358320#page/313/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 301