PRETTY GARLIC - WITCHES' GARLIC - Allium coloratum
Allium coloratum
Allium caritum L. subsp. pulchellum Bonnier & Layens, Allium pulchellum G. Don, Allium cirrhosum Vand., Allium cirrhosum auct.
Amaryllidaceae
Lovely garlic
Cirrhose garlic
Witches' garlic
Deutsch: Kiel-Lauch
English: Keeled garlic, Witch's garlic
Français: Ail caréné
Allium coloratum, know first of all, that to complicate things it has as a synonym Allium farinatum subsp. pulchellum! 🫣
But remember that:
1. It has cylindrical but smooth stems,
2. It is surrounded by sheaths up to the middle,
3. The leaves are linear and sparse at the edges,
4. The inflorescence has many flowers but no bulbils,
5. The flowers have shorter tepals (4-5 mm);
6. It is not found in the Aosta Valley, Puglia, Sicily, Sardinia, and Calabria.
Allium carinatum L. on the other hand:
1. has a cylindrical but striated scape,
2. the sheath envelops just under the lower third,
3. has linear leaves that are 2-4 mm wide and have smooth edges,
4. the inflorescence has visible bulbils and few flowers,
5. has flowers with six pinkish-lilac, obovate tepals, 5-7 mm long,
6. is found only in Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Marche, and Umbria.