Allium triquetrum |
Allium schoenoprasum |
|
---|---|---|
three-corner leek, three-cornered leek, white flower onion |
chive, wild chives |
|
Bulbs | 5–20+, not clustered on stout primary rhizome, rhizomes absent, increase bulbs absent or ± equaling parent bulbs, never appearing as basal cluster, ovoid, 1–2 × 1–2 cm; outer coats enclosing renewal bulbs, ± translucent, yellow-brown, obscurely cellular-reticulate, thin, membranous, meshes delicate, cells vertically elongate, contorted, without fibers; inner coats white, cells obscure, quadrate, or not visible. |
1 or more, clustered, short-rhizomatous at base, cylindric, elongate, 0.5–0.9 × 1.5–2 cm; outer coats enclosing bulbs, grayish or brownish, persisting as fibrous reticulum but often appearing membranous as outer coats are lost during collecting, cells minutely striate; inner coats whitish or pinkish, cells closely parallel, elongate. |
Leaves | persistent, green at anthesis, 2–3, basally sheathing, sheaths not extending much above soil surface; blade solid, flat, not falcate, ± carinate, 15–50 cm × 3–15 mm, margins entire. |
persistent, green at anthesis, usually 2, distalmost usually ensheathing 1/3–1/2 scape; blade hollow, terete, fistulose, 20–60 cm × 2–7 mm. |
Scape | persistent, clustered, 1–4, erect, solid, sharply 3-angled, 10–40 cm × 1–10 mm. |
persistent, 2–12+, clustered, erect, terete, fistulose, 20–50 cm × 3–5 mm. |
Umbel | persistent, lax, loose, 3–15-flowered, ± 1-sided, bulbils unknown; spathe bracts persistent, 1–2, 3-veined, narrowly lanceolate, ± equal, apex acute. |
persistent, erect, compact, 30–50-flowered, ± subglobose, bulbils unknown; spathe bracts persistent, 2, 3–7-veined, lanceolate to broadly ovate, ± equal, apex short-acuminate. |
Flowers | becoming pendent, campanulate, 10–18 mm; tepals erect to spreading, white with prominent green midrib, lanceolate, ± equal, becoming membranous in fruit, margins entire, apex acute; stamens included; anthers yellow; pollen yellow; ovary crestless; style linear, ± equaling stamens; stigma capitate, scarcely thickened, unlobed; pedicel 15–25 mm. |
campanulate, 8–12 mm; tepals erect, pale purple to deep lilac, drying pink, particularly on midrib, or white, elliptic to lanceolate, ± equal, becoming papery in fruit, permanently investing capsule, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate, tips ± recurved, midribs not thickened; stamens included; anthers purple; pollen white; ovary crestless; style linear, equaling stamens; stigma capitate, unlobed or obscurely lobed; pedicel 2–6 mm. |
Seed(s) | coat dull; cells minutely roughened. |
coat shining; cells minutely roughened, not pustuliferous. |
2n | = 18. |
= 16. |
Allium triquetrum |
Allium schoenoprasum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Apr. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Disturbed sites | Wet meadows, rocky or gravelly stream banks and lake shores, circumboreal |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | 0–3500 m (0–11500 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; sw Europe [Introduced in North America]
|
AK; CO; CT; ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Siberia
|
Discussion | Allium triquetrum is a garden escape, introduced from southwestern Europe, and is potentially a noxious weed. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Allium schoenoprasum is native in North America, but it is also cultivated and has widely escaped. It is an extremely polymorphic species, and throughout its range both large and small races occur. These plants have been known as A. sibiricum, A. schoenoprasum var. sibiricum, or A. schoenoprasum var. laurentianum, and many, largely unsuccessful, attempts have been made to distinguish the varieties. Until the variation can be worked out along natural lines, if any, instead of unstable features such as plant size, and color and shape of the tepals, recognition of these varieties is unsound. Because we are unable to separate native populations from many of the escaped ones, we cannot reliably map the native distribution of this taxon in the flora. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 257. | FNA vol. 26, p. 240. |
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Allium | Liliaceae > Allium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. schoenoprasum var. laurentianum, A. schoenoprasum var. sibiricum, A. sibiricum | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 300. (1753) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 301. (1753) |
Web links |