''Allium cyathophorum'' is a Chinese (杯花韭, bei hua jiu) species of flowering plant in the onion genus ''

Allium ''Allium'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name ''Allium'' is the Latin word for garlic,Gledhill, ...

'' of the family

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus '' Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryl ...

. It grows at elevations from 2700 metres up to 4600 metres.Flora of China v 24 p 176 杯花韭 bei hua jiu ''Allium cyathophorum''
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Description

This

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs du ...

ous

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

perennial 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 ...

has thick roots but thin, fibrous bulbs. The scapes are usually 2-angled, up to tall. The leaves are flat, narrowly linear, usually shorter than the scapes. The

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'' " ...

s are hemispheric (half spheres) with purple flowers.Bureau, Louis Édouard, & Franchet, Adrien René. 1891. Journal de Botanique (Morot) 5(10): 154–155.

Taxonomy

''Allium cyathophorum'' is found in the third evolutionary line of the genus ''Allium''. It is a member of the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betw ...

''Cyathophora'' and is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

for that subgenus.

Varieties

Two

infraspecific In botany, an infraspecific name is the scientific name for any taxon below the rank of species, i.e. an infraspecific taxon or infraspecies. (A "taxon", plural "taxa", is a group of organisms to be given a particular name.) The scientific names ...

varieties are recognized: * ''Allium cyathophorum'' var. ''cyathophorum'' (''Syn.'' ''Allium venustum'' C.H.Wright) ---

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 very ...

blunt-tipped -

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

* ''Allium cyathophorum'' var. ''farreri'' (

Stearn Stearn is a surname derived from the Old English ''Stearne'', which means severe or strict. Variations include Stearns, Sterne and Stern. It may refer to the following: * Christopher Stearn (born 1980), English cricketer *Jess Stearn (1914–2002 ...

) Stearn (''Syn.'' ''Allium farreri'' Stearn) --

pointed at the tips - Gansu,

William Stearn originally named ''Allium farreri'' in 1930 after

Reginald Farrer Reginald John Farrer (17 February 1880 – 17 October 1920), was a traveller and plant collector. He published a number of books, although is best known for ''My Rock Garden''. He travelled to Asia in search of a variety of plants, many of wh ...

, but in 1950 realised it was a variety of ''Allium cyathophorum'', and so renamed it.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q8195839

cyathophorum ''Cyathophorum'' is a genus of moss in the family Hypopterygiaceae. Seven species are found across Africa, southern and eastern Asia, through to Australia and Pacific Islands. References External links

Moss genera Bryopsida {{Br ...

Onions Flora of China Plants described in 1891