''Allium lojaconoi,'' common name Maltese dwarf garlic, is a species of wild

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

endemic to the Republic of Malta in the Mediterranean. The species was first described in 1982 by Salvatore Brullo, E. Lanfranco and Pietro Pavone. It is closely related to '' A. parciflorum,'' from Sardinia and

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

Description

''Allium lojaconoi'' is a perennial bulb plant. It is extremely delicate and only 5 to 10 centimeters high. The flowering time is summer. The inflorescence is a loose capitulum with four to twelve stalked flowers. The flowers are brown-purple to pink in colour, with a central dark stripe on each petal. The plant has 16 chromosomes (2n).

Occurrence

''Allium lojaconoi'' usually grows on rocky ground near the coast, on all three of the major islands of the country ( Malta,

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...

and Comino).IUCN Red Lest of Threatened Species, ''Allium lojaconoi'
/ref> The species is reported as rare.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1764628 lojaconoi Garlic Endemic flora of Malta Flora of Malta Plants described in 1982