Species
Allium vineale var. compactum
Etymology
Allium: Possibly from the Latin word for garlic or the Celtic word all 'pungent' or 'burning'
Common Name(s)
wild onion
Family
Alliaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
Structural Class
Monocotyledonous Herbs
Similar Taxa
Stems 30 to 90 cm tall, smooth and waxy. Leaves slender, hollow, nearly round, attached to lower half of stem. aerial bulblets form in a cluster at top of stem, are oval and smooth with shiny covering. Flowers greenish-white, small, on short stems above aerial bulblets (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Flower Colours
No Flowers
Year Naturalised
1868
Origin
Europe, N. America
Reproduction
Seeds, aerial bulblets, underground bulblets (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Seed
Seeds black, flat on one side, about 3mm long; formed only occasionally (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Dispersal
Dispersed by vertebrates and possibly wind (Atkinson 1997).
This page last updated on 18 Jan 2010