Allium sphaerocephalon

Allium sphaerocephalon (known as "stork's garlic", "round-headed garlic", "garlic montesino", or "ajo perruno") is a species belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family.

Detail of the Inflorescence

Bulbs

Description

It is a perennial herb with bright red flowers that attract attention. With an intense smell of garlic from its stem and bulbs. This 40-80 cm plant is easily found in farmland, along paths and pastures. The stem is hollow, cylindrical and not always erect, but can be twisted.

This plant is characterized by the appearance of other bulbs thickening the basal part of the stem.

Its flowering occurs between April and June with inflorescence in a simple, extreme umbel, without bulbils and which can measure up to 8 cm in diameter, more than 20 rays or pedicels of different sizes start from the thalamus, to take that shape oval that has the umbel. The flower with elongated and ovate petals is keeled, lanceolate, almost closed and from it you can distinguish how the stamens protrude. The fruit is presented in a capsule.

Taxonomy

Allium sphaerocephalon was described by Charles Linnaeus and published in Species Plantarum: 297 (1753).

• The Allium sphaerocephalon described by Crome is the Allium vinale described by L.

Etymology

Allium: very old generic name. Plants of this genus were known to both the Romans and the Greeks. However, the term appears to be of Celtic origin, meaning 'to burn', in reference to the plant's strong pungent odor. One of the first to use this name for botanical purposes was the French naturalist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656-1708).

sphaerocephalon: Latin epithet meaning "with a spherical head".

Sinonimia

• Allium atroviolaceum Hornem.
• Allium sphaerocephalon subsp. descendens Asch. & Graebn.
• Allium sphaerocephalon var. typicum Regel
• Allium veronense Pollini
• Porrum sphaerocephalon (L.) Rchb.
• Porrum sphaerocephaluon (L.) Rchb.

Vernacular

• Castilian: ajestyn, garlic, garlic of round head, garlic garlic of stork, garlic of bush, garlic mad, garlic montesino, garlic perruno, garjoporro, garlic parrot, garlic wild, onion wild, cebollino edge, cebollinos. Aragonés: all de burro, all de tozino, all porro, all purro, all de bruxa.

Uses

Allium sphaerocephalon is resistant to full sun and has showy inflorescences, which is why it is used in gardening. In general, the genus Allium is widely used in gardening due to its great variety of umbels and its easy reproduction by seeds and bulbs.

Curiosities

It is attacked by the insect Agrotis segetum, a lepidopteran that feeds on the roots of the plant and is capable of laying up to 2000 eggs.

Bibliography and publications

• DICCIONARIO ILUSTRADO DE LOS NOMBRES VERNACULOS de las PLANTAS en ESPAÑA. Andrés Ceballos Jiménez. I.C.O.N.A. 1986