''Allium oleraceum'', the field garlic, is a

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

n species of

wild onion Wild onion can refer to * any uncultivated species in the genus '' Allium'', especially: **'' Allium bisceptrum'' ** '' Allium canadense'' ** ''Allium tricoccum ''Allium tricoccum'' (commonly known as ramp, ramps, ramson, wild leek, wood leek, o ...

. It is a bulbous perennial that grows wild in dry places, reaching in height. It reproduces by seed, bulbs and by the production of small bulblets in the flower head (similarly to '' Allium vineale''). Unlike ''A. vineale'', it is very rare with ''A. oleraceum'' to find flower-heads containing bulbils only. In addition, the

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

in ''A. oleraceum'' is in two parts.The

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain ''p.382''. Its specific epithet ''oleraceum'' means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of ().

Description

''Allium oleraceum'' grows to a height of about . The underground bulb is up to in diameter. The main stem is usually rounded, but is occasionally flattened, and bears two to four leaves and a terminal

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

composed of a number of small, stalked, pinkish-brown flowers and sometimes a few bulblets. The papery bracts have long points which often much overtop the flowers, the stamens of which do not protrude. Illustration Allium oleraceum0.jpg, 1885 Illustration Backlök (Allium oleraceum).jpg,

Distribution

''Allium oleraceum'' is widespread across most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, with additional populations in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. It is sparingly naturalised in scattered locations in North America. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, ''A. oleraceum'' is found in dry, grassy places, usually steeply sloping and

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

soils, and on open sunny banks in river

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s. ''A. oleraceum'' is scattered throughout

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and very scattered in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Erosion of coastal areas leads to a reduction in the available habitat for this species, leading to population declines.UK Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GRFA)
. The highest altitude from which it has been recorded in Britain is in

Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale in the north and a wooded r ...

, Derbyshire. ''Allium oleraceum'' subsp. ''girerdii'' was formerly included, but is now classified as '' Allium oporinanthum''.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q161107 Garlic oleraceum Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Description

Distribution

See also

References

External links