This page compiles all the information and photos of the Allium taxa, cultivars, and hybrids we currently have on the PBS wiki. The Allium index gives information about the genus and includes tables of species and hybrids and cultivars.
Page 2: A. atropurpureum... Page 3: A. carmeli... Page 4: A. decipiens... Page 5: A. guttatum... Page 6: A. karataviense... Page 7: A. membranaceum... Page 8: A. paradoxum... Page 9: A. regelii... Page 10: A. serra... Page 11: A. tardiflorum... Page 12: A. vineale...
Allium 'Globemaster' is a fantastic cross (Allium macleanii x cristophii) made by Jan Bijl, requiring nearly 20 years to bring it into commercially scaled production. It has dense globes of purple starry flowers that have that same metallic sheen evidenced by Allium cristophii (often misspelled "christophii"). The floral globes start out 4-5" across, but since the new buds pop out just beyond the spent blooms, the great spheres of bloom grow in size over several weeks. Under good conditions, the bloom heads can exceed 11" (28 cm) across! One of the best features of the "big ball" type of alliums are the fantastic seed heads. In the second photo taken 3/6/03 there are two dried 'Globemaster' seed heads. The dried seed structures are about 8 years old now, but still hold their decorative appeal. Photographed up against a brick wall, and knowing that a brick is 8" (20 cm) wide, you'll get a good idea just how huge the bloom heads can get. Photos by Mark McDonough.
Allium 'Lucy Ball' is another cross from the same parentage as 'Gladiator', namely between A. hollandicum (syn. A. aflatunense of Hort.) x macleanii (probably). The cultivar seems prone to rot in my garden, and I haven't bothered replacing it recently. The first photo shows the tight buds, and the second photo shows an inflorescence at full anthesis. Photos by Mark McDonough.
Allium 'Millenium' is a plant that I named in the year 2000, a really nice clumping plant, with a large number of sturdy stems and bright rose flower globes appearing in August. Photos by Mark McDonough and Jay Yourch.
Allium abramsii (Ownbey & Aase ex Traub) McNeal is a California species found in the higher foothills of the central Sierra Nevada. It has rose-purple flowers. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner
Allium acuminatum Hook. is native to the Western United States and Canada. It has bright rose to purple urn like flowers in open umbels and blooms May to July. It has sharply pointed tepals, the outer recurved and the inner with enrolled margins and is sometimes known as the Tapertip Onion. Another common name is Hooker's Onion. Photos 1-3 by Mary Sue Ittner. The last photo was taken by Richard Haard.
Allium acutiflorum Loisel. is a species of onion native to sandy and rocky places in Southern Europe and North Africa. Photos by Martin Bohnet and Wietse Mellema.
Allium albidum Fisch. ex M.Bieb. is found in Bulgaria, Romania, European Russia, on stony sunny slopes to about 2000 m. It has cylindrical to narrowly conical bulbs, clustered on a short rhizome, stems 15-30 cm high, linear leaves, 2- 4 mm wide, and white to yellowish flowers that are bowl-shaped to almost flat, 6-8 mm wide, in dense hemispherical umbels 2-3 cm across, summer. According to Plants of the World Online and World Flora Online in 2024 this species is considered to be a synonym of Allium denudatum Redouté.
Allium albidum ssp. caucasicum (Regel) Stearn is a nice compact form of this European mat-forming onion. The small white flowers in July and August are not particularly large, showy, or plentiful, but it's a pleasant enough little species that makes carpets of fine green strap-shaped foliage. It's small enough to grow in a trough, as shown in the image. Photos by Mark McDonough.
Allium albidum hybrid - The plant pictured is of one of the better seedlings resulting after several years of selecting among hybrid progeny derived from such species as Allium nutans, Allium senescens, and A. albidum, all of which freely hybridize with each other. This is one that shows a strong A. albidum influence, having smaller, tight heads of blooms, and very pale color, a sort of warm pinkish-white. With the shorter stems, even growth, and handsome clumps of shiny green strap leaves, it has great potential for further hybridizing. Photo by Mark McDonough.
Allium alexeianum Regel is found in the Pamir mountains in Central Asia (Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan). Photograph by Rimmer de Vries.
Allium altyncolicum N.Friesen is native to Southwest Siberia. It was first published in 1987 and included in the Flora of Siberia in 2001. Photos from Mark McDonough who wrote: "For years I was puzzled by this very chive-like plant that had very un-chive-like growth habit, with striking bluish foliage that stands stiffly erect. The flowers appear later than Allium schoenoprasum, and the florets are individually larger, and with longer filaments. Without knowing of this species, it seemed like an entity somewhere between Allium schoenoprasum and Allium ledebourianum. I had dubbed it 'Blue Spear' alluding to the foliage form. I'm glad to at long last to have a name on this Siberian species. The flowers are light mauve. The last two photos show the plant in flower. The flower heads are very large and showy, appearing well after regular chives or Allium schoenoprasum is done flowering.
Allium amethystinum Tausch is a species from the Mediterranean where it grows in rocky places. It has hollow leaves that have withered by flowering time (May to July) and many purple flowers in a spherical umbel. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner.
Allium ampeloprasum L. is the species known as the common leek. It is native to Europe and Asia, though it has been used by humans for centuries as a food and it is not known if its distribution was extended as a result. Photo by Wietse Mellema.
Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum is what we call Elephant garlic. It forms large thickened scales that are similar to true garlic (Allium sativum), but it is much milder in flavor. It is occasionally grown as an ornamental, reaching heights of up to five feet tall. The leaves grow through the winter and begin to die by the time the umbels, up to 4" across, are in bloom. The flowers are a dull purple, somewhat urn-shaped and constricted at the mouth. The flowers bloom for a very long time, new ones appearing through the center of the ball. Small bees, wasps, and even hummingbirds have been known to take advantage of the large inflorescences. Photos from Travis Owen. The last photo shows the seed head.
Allium amphibolum Ledeb. is a species of onion native to Altai, Tuva, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and the Province of Xinjiang in western China. It is a drumstick Allium. It produces a clump of narrow bulbs up to 15 mm in diameter with scapes that are up to 30 cm tall. The leaves are straight and narrow (in Allium pumilum they are curved), up to 15 cm long, but rarely more than 5 mm across. Tepals are rose or lilac, with darker red midveins. Photos from iNaturalist were taken by Svetlana Nesterova in Russia and shared under a CC BY-NC license.
Allium amplectens Torr. is common in hot dry openings west of the Sierra Nevada in California and occasionally in Oregon, Washington, and southwest Canada. It is a variable species, with some plants forming small inflorescences, while others form much larger ones. Flowers range from white to pink in color. Not all forms of Allium amplectens are easy to grow. Photos 1-2 taken by Mark McDonough shows a pink form that is very easy to grow under normal garden conditions (eastern US), and produces a profusion of light pink starry blooms in May. Collections from arid regions are growable if planted in raised sand or clay beds. Photos 3-6 were taken by Nhu Nguyen of a form that needs a dry summer. Photo 3 show plants taken at the Tilden Botanic Garden. The last photo shows the texture of the bulb scale important in identification of many American alliums.
The first two photos were taken by Nhu Nguyen. The first is a habitat shot (Lake County, CA) showing this species growing near a stream bed. This form is able to grow on serpentine soil. The second shows a white form of this species which requires a dry summer dormancy. The last three photos by Mary Sue Ittner shows plants photographed in April 2005 at Pinnacles National Park and plants flowering in the Vina Plains Preserve in April 2006.
Allium amplectens 'Graceful' is an easily grown adaptable selection. Here are photos taken by Travis Owen showing plant in various stages of growth. The first photo shows the leaf bract towards the base, possibly a helpful characteristic to identifying the species.
Allium angulosum L is native to damp grasslands from Europe to Siberia. There are many forms in the wild and in cultivation. Photo by Mark McDonough who writes: "This spontaneous seedling was a rare find in my garden, being a very full-headed, clean white form of this fairly well-known European rhizomatous onion. Notice something rather unique about this plant, it has a tendency to form a 2nd tier of blooms with a secondary flower stalk that pops out and above the primary flower globe! There is only one other species known to this: Allium regelii. I do intend on naming and propagating this unique form of Allium angulosum. It flowers in June-July, on stems 16-18" tall. The shiny green strap foliage builds up into handsome clumps. In the photo, the blooms are emerging from the foliage of hardy Hibiscus hybrids."
Allium ascalonicum syn. Allium hierochuntinum is the only blue flowering Allium in the eastern Mediterranean. This small, slender species grows in the deserts of Syria south to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, flowering in March. Photo was taken in north east Jordan by Oron Peri.
Page 2: A. atropurpureum... Page 3: A. carmeli... Page 4: A. decipiens... Page 5: A. guttatum... Page 6: A. karataviense... Page 7: A. membranaceum... Page 8: A. paradoxum... Page 9: A. regelii... Page 10: A. serra... Page 11: A. tardiflorum... Page 12: A. vineale...
Allium index - Allium flavum Relatives - American alliums A-F - American alliums G-Z - Big Ball alliums - Blue alliums - Chives - Domed alliums - Drumstick alliums - Rhizomatous alliums