''Allium ampeloprasum'' is a member of the

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

genus ''

Allium ''Allium'' is a large genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants with around 1000 accepted species, making ''Allium'' the largest genus in the family Amaryllidaceae and among the largest plant genera in the world. Many of the species are edible, ...

''. The wild plant is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range is southern Europe to southwestern Asia and North Africa, but it is cultivated in many other places and has become

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in many countries. ''Allium ampeloprasum'' has been differentiated into five cultivated vegetables, namely

leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

, elephant garlic,

pearl onion The pearl onion (''Allium ampeloprasum'' var. ''sectivum'' or ''A. ampeloprasum'' 'Pearl-Onion Group'), also known as button onion, baby onion or silverskin onion in the UK, is a close relative of the leek (''A. ampeloprasum'' var. ''porrum''), a ...

, kurrat, and Persian leek. Some sources (especially archeological ones) refer to each of these as a separate species,. but they are all united in ''A. ampeloprasum'' now.

Description

Wild populations produce bulbs up to across. Scapes are round in cross-section, each up to tall, bearing an

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

of as many as 500 flowers. Flowers are urn-shaped, up to across;

tepals A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of ve ...

white, pink or red;

anthers The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

yellow or purple;

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

yellow.

Distribution and habitat

''Allium ampeloprasum'' is regarded as

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to all the countries bordering on the

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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, and

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

s from Portugal to Egypt to Romania. In Russia and Ukraine, it is considered invasive except in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, where it is native. It is also native to Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Iraq. It is considered naturalized in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, the

Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, Belarus, the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

, Madeira, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, China, Australia (all states except

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

), Mexico, the Dominican Republic,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, Haiti, the United States (southeastern region plus

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

), Galápagos, and Argentina. In tidewater

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, where it is commonly known as the " Yorktown onion", it is protected by law in York County. The species may have been introduced to Britain by prehistoric people, where its habitat consists of rocky places near the coast in south-west England and Wales.

Cultivation

''Allium ampeloprasum'' is the source of several vegetables, most notably: *

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

(var. ''porrum'') * Elephant garlic or great-headed garlic (var. ''ampeloprasum'') *

Pearl onion The pearl onion (''Allium ampeloprasum'' var. ''sectivum'' or ''A. ampeloprasum'' 'Pearl-Onion Group'), also known as button onion, baby onion or silverskin onion in the UK, is a close relative of the leek (''A. ampeloprasum'' var. ''porrum''), a ...

(var. ''sectivum'') * Kurrat (var. ''kurrat''),Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen. Egyptian leek or salad leek. This variety has small bulbs, and primarily the leaves are eaten. * Persian leek (''A. ampeloprasum'' ssp. ''persicum''). A cultivated allium native to the Middle East and Iran, grown for culinary purposes and called ''tareh'' in Persian. The linear green leaves have a mild onion flavor and are eaten raw, either alone, or in food combinations.

Gallery

Image:Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum).jpg,

Spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

unfurling to reveal buds Image:Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) 2.jpg, Spathe fully unfurled File:Allium ampeloprasum MHNT.BOT.2006.46.12.jpg, Allium ampeloprasum - MHNT File:Porri IMG 0175.JPG, Section

References

External links