ALLIUML.ONION

ALLIUML. - ONION

Scientific Description:

Bulbous scapose perennials. Bulbs tunicate, solitary or in a cluster attached to a rhizome. Leaves sheathing at base, filiform, linear or elliptic, flat or cy­lindrical to semicylindrical, often fistulose. Flowers in a terminal umbel, in bud totally enclosed within a spathe; spathe entire or divided into 2 or more valves, often deciduous. Pedicels often bracteolate at base. Perianth stellate, narrowly campanulate or ovoid-urceolate; segments persistent, free or slightly connate at base, 1-veined. Stamens 6, free or connate at base into an annulus, inserted at base of perianth segments and sometimes adnate to their base; fila­ments often with lateral cusps; anthers ellipsoid-oblong, dorsifixed, introrse. Ovary 3-locular, ovules usually 2, rarely many, per loculus. Style 1, filiform, gynobasic; stigma usually entire, punctiform or capitate, rarely ± shortly 3-lobed. Capsule loculicidal; seeds 1−2 (rarely more) per loculus, usually triquet­rous or compressed, rarely globose, black. — Most (but not all) species have a distinctive smell of garlic or onion.

Reference:
Kollmann F (1984). Allium L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 8: 98.

Public Description:

Allium is a genus of bulbous scapose perennials known as “onion”, and grows naturally in Northern Hemisphere. There are approximately 918 species in the world and 198 species (112 taxa) in Türkiye. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for “garlic”. Some sources claim that this name is given to avoiding the smell of garlic from the word "aleo", which means "to avoid" in Greek. This family contains important commercial vegetables such as onions (Allium cepa L.), garlic (Allium sativum L.), chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.) and leeks (Allium ampeloprasum L.).

References:

Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium#Uses)/, Accessed date: 21.02.2016.

Anonymous 2 (2016). https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/genus/allium/, Accessed date: 21.02.2016.

Anonymous 3 (2016). http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Amaryllidaceae/Allium/, Accessed date: 21.02.2016.

Koyuncu M (2012). Allium L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 30–44.