Allium oleraceum

Field garlic
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Allioideae
Genus: Allium
Subgenus: A. subg. Allium
Species:
A. oleraceum
Binomial name
Allium oleraceum
L. 1753 not Des Moul. 1840
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy
  • Allium complanatum Boreau
  • Allium intermedium G.Don
  • Allium oleraceum var. carinatum Nyman
  • Allium oleraceum var. latifolium W.D.J.Koch
  • Allium oxypetalum G.Don
  • Allium pallens var. pseudooleraceum Seregin
  • Allium parviflorum Thuill.
  • Allium scabrum Gilib.
  • Allium virens Lam.
  • Allium virescens Lam.
  • Cepa oleracea (L.) Bernh.
  • Codonoprasum alpicola Jord. & Fourr.
  • Codonoprasum complanatum (Boreau) Fourr.
  • Codonoprasum intermedium Rchb.
  • Codonoprasum oleraceum (L.) Rchb.
  • Codonoprasum viridiflorum Schur
  • Porrum oleraceum (L.) Moench
  • Raphione oleracea (L.) Salisb.

Allium oleraceum, the field garlic, is a Eurasian species of wild onion. It is a bulbous perennial that grows wild in dry places, reaching 30 centimetres (12 in) in height. It reproduces by seed, bulbs and by the production of small bulblets in the flower head (similarly to Allium vineale). Unlike A. vineale, it is very rare with A. oleraceum to find flower-heads containing bulbils only.[2] In addition, the spathe in A. oleraceum is in two parts.[2][3]

Its specific epithet oleraceum means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus).[4][5]

  1. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ a b The Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain p.382.
  3. ^ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 299.
  4. ^ Parker, Peter (2018). A Little Book of Latin for Gardeners. Little Brown Book Group. p. 328. ISBN 978-1-4087-0615-2. oleraceus, holeraceus = relating to vegetables or kitchen garden
  5. ^ Whitney, William Dwight (1899). The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Century Co. p. 2856. L. holeraceus, prop. oleraceus, herb-like, holus, prop. olus (oler-), herbs, vegetables