''Allium sphaerocephalon'' is a plant species in the Amaryllis family known as round-headed leek, round-headed garlic, ball-head onion, and other variations on these names. Drumstick allium is another common name applied to this species. Some publications use the alternate spelling ''Allium sphaerocephalum''. It is a bulbous herbaceous

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

. ''Allium sphaerocephalon'' is found in the wild across all parts of Europe except in the northern and western countries (

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 ...

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 ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, and the Baltic States). Its native range extends to northern Africa and to western Asia as far east as

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

.Missouri Botanical Garden, Gardening Help, ''Allium sphaerocephalon''
/ref> It is also reportedly naturalised in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, US. In

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 ...

it grows wild only in the

Avon Gorge The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5 km) from the mouth of the ...

so is known locally as the Bristol onion. The species is prized by gardeners because of its striking floral display. The spherical " head" (technically an

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

) is borne on a long scape, up to 50 cm in height, usually in July. It can contain hundreds of deep purple flowers. The specific epithet ''sphaerocephalon'' derives from ancient Greek, meaning "spherical head". This plant has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

’s Award of Garden Merit.

Description

''Allium sphaerocephalon'' produces egg-shaped bulbs. Small bulblets are present under the outer layer of the stem (making the plant potentially invasive when grown in gardens). Flowers are borne on a scape up to 50 cm in height, in a spherical to egg-shaped

, 1–6 cm in diameter, tightly packed with many flowers crowded together. The relatively small size of the umbel relative to the height of the stem makes this one of those described as 'drumstick alliums'. Individual flowers are reddish-purple and are occasionally replaced by bulbils (again making this a potentially invasive species)., p. 135

Subspecies and varieties

*''Allium sphaerocephalon'' var. ''aegaeum'' (Heldr. & Halácsy) Hayek - Aegean Islands *''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''arvense'' (Guss.) Arcang. -

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

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 ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, Syria,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

Kew Royal Botanical Garden, London, ''Allium sphaerocephalon''
/ref> *''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''laxiflorum'' (Guss.) Giardina & Raimondo -

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

*''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''sphaerocephalon'' - much 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 ...

plus

, Canary Islands,

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

*''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''trachypus'' (Boiss. & Spruner) K.Richt. -

and

incl Aegean Islands

Formerly included

* ''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''durandoi'', now called '' Allium ebusitanum'' * ''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''ebusitanum'', now called '' Allium ebusitanum'' * ''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''rollii'', now called '' Allium amethystinum'' * ''Allium sphaerocephalon'' subsp. ''sardoum'', now called '' Allium guttatum'' subsp. ''sardoum'' * ''Allium sphaerocephalon'' var. ''scaberrimum'', now called '' Allium scaberrimum''

References

External links

*
Comprehensive profile for ''Allium sphaerocephalon''
from the websit
MaltaWildPlants.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q159286 sphaerocephalon Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Garden plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus