Allium

Allium
Allium ursinum in habitat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Allioideae
Tribe: Allieae
Genus: Allium
L.
Type species
Allium sativum
Synonyms
Synonymy
  • Cepa Mill.
  • Moly Mill.
  • Porrum Mill.
  • Saturnia Maratti
  • Moenchia Medik. 1790, illegitimate homonym not Ehrh. 1783 nor Roth 1788 nor Wender. ex Steud. 1841
  • Ascalonicum P.Renault
  • Schoenoprasum Kunth
  • Ophioscorodon Wallr.
  • Geboscon Raf.
  • Codonoprasum Rchb.
  • Molium (G.Don) Haw.
  • Nectaroscordum Lindl.
  • Aglitheis Raf.
  • Endotis Raf.
  • Getuonis Raf.
  • Gynodon Raf.
  • Kalabotis Raf.
  • Kepa Tourn. ex Raf.
  • Kromon Raf.
  • Loncostemon Raf.
  • Maligia Raf.
  • PanstenumRaf.
  • Plexistena Raf.
  • Stelmesus Raf.
  • Stemodoxis Raf.
  • Praskoinon Raf.
  • Trigonea Parl.
  • Caloscordum Herb.
  • Berenice Salisb. 1866, illegitimate homonym not Tul. 1857
  • Briseis Salisb.
  • Butomissa Salisb.
  • Calliprena Salisb.
  • Camarilla Salisb.
  • Canidia Salisb.
  • Hexonychia Salisb.
  • Hylogeton Salisb.
  • Iulus Salisb.
  • Molyza Salisb.
  • Phyllodolon Salisb.
  • Raphione Salisb.
  • Schoenissa Salisb.
  • Xylorhiza Salisb. 1866, illegitimate homonym not Nutt. 1840
  • Anguinum Fourr.
  • Rhizirideum Fourr.
  • Scorodon Fourr.
  • Milula Prain
  • Validallium Small
Allium flavum (yellow) and Allium carinatum (purple)
Allium sp.
Allium sp.

Allium is a large genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants with 1112 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, and some have a long history of cultivation and human consumption such as the onion, garlic, scallions, shallots, leeks, and chives.

Allium species occur in temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere, except for a few species occurring in Chile (such as A. juncifolium), Brazil (A. sellovianum), and tropical Africa (A. spathaceum). They vary in height between 5–150 centimetres (2–59 in). The flowers form an umbel at the top of a leafless stalk. The bulbs vary in size between species, from small (around 2–3 mm in diameter) to rather large (8–10 cm). Some species (such as Welsh onion A. fistulosum and leeks (A. ampeloprasum)) develop thickened leaf-bases rather than forming bulbs as such.

Carl Linnaeus first described the genus Allium in 1753. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic, and the type species for the genus is Allium sativum which means "cultivated garlic". The decision to include a species in the genus Allium is taxonomically difficult, and species boundaries are unclear. Estimates of the number of species are as low as 260, and as high as 979. In the APG III classification system, Allium is placed in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae (formerly the family Alliaceae). In some of the older classification systems, Allium was placed in Liliaceae. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown this circumscription of Liliaceae is not monophyletic.

Various Allium species have been cultivated from the earliest times. About a dozen species are economically important as crops, or garden vegetables, and an increasing number of species are important as ornamental plants. Plants belonging to this genus produce cysteine-derived organosulfur compounds, which impart a distinctive onion or garlic flavor and scent. Many are used as food plants, though not all members of the genus are equally flavorful. In most cases, both bulb and leaves are edible. The characteristic Allium flavor depends on the sulfate content of the soil the plant grows in. In the rare occurrence of sulfur-depleted growth conditions, all Allium species completely lose their usual odors and flavors.

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