Allium neapolitanum Cirillo

Global description
Allium neapolitanum is a bulbous herbaceous plant. The bulbs vary from 1 to 2.5 cm in diameter. They are buried deeply with usually numerous bulbils. The leaves are linear, glaucous, emerging directly out of the ground in clusters of 2 to 6. The inflorescence is a loose umbel at the tip of a floral axis, 20-70 cm tall. It is subtended by two whitish triangular bracts, 1-3 cm long. The white flowers with 3 sepals and 3 petals, in groups of 2-6, are found at the tip of pedicels, 1-7 cm long. The fruits are small obovoid capsules. 

First leaves
The first leaves are linear, with upright long blade, rounded at the top, having a slightly folded cross section, margin entire.

General habit
Bulbous vivacious plant whose aerial part is represented by linear, vertically erect leaves, arranged distichously above the ground.

Underground system
The underground organ consists of a deeply buried bulb, generally accompanied with numerous bulbils at its base. The roots are fibrous

Stem
The stem is reduced to a plate at the base of the bulb. The floral axis is hollow and cylindrical.

Leaf
The leaves are simple, alternate and distichous. They are sessile. The lamina is linear, 14 to 50 cm long and 0.5 to 1.2 cm wide, with cuneate apex, slightly fleshy, with cross section slightly folded, bent at the base, murky green in color. Both sides are glabrous with thin parallel veins. The margin is entire and smooth.

Inflorescence
The inflorescence is a loose umbel at the tip of a floral stalk, 20-70 cm tall. It is subtended by 2 triangular acuminate, papery bracts 1-3 cm long.

Flower
Flower pedicels are unequal, 1-7 cm long. The perianth consists of 3 sepals and 3 petals which are undifferentiated, 7-14 mm long. They are purple when in bud, then white, lobes with a purple midrib. The ovary is oblong, very shortly pointed.

Fruit
The fruit is an obovoid to trigonal dehiscent capsule, 6-10 mm long, containing numerous black seeds of variable forms.

Origin

Allium neapolitanum is native to southern Europe; Mediterranean region from Portugal to Israel.

Worldwide distribution

This species has been introduced in Morocco and Algeria, in the USA, in the islands of the Indian Ocean (Reunion, Mauritius), in Pakistan, in Australia and in New Zealand.

https://www.gbif.org/species/2856348