Allium Descendens Purple-headed Garlick

<p><em>Class and Order.</em></p>

<p>Hexandria Monogynia.</p>

<p><em>Generic Character.</em></p>

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<p><em>Cor.</em> 6-partita, patens. <em>Spatha</em> multiflora. <em>Umbella</em> congesta. <em>Caps.</em> supera. </p>

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<p><em>Specific Character and Synonyms.</em></p>

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<p>ALLIUM <em>descendens</em> caule subteretifolio umbellifero, pedunculis exterioribus brevioribus, staminibus tricuspidatis. Linn. <em>Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14.</em> <em>Murr. p. 322.</em> <em>Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 425.</em></p>

<p>ALLIUM staminibus alterne trifidis, foliis fistulosis, capite sph&aelig;rico non bulbifero atropurpureo. <em>Hall. All. Tab. 2. f. p. 355. xx. ii.</em> </p>

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<div> <img src="/images/flowers/img076tb.jpg" alt="" title="" height="400" width="233" /> No249. <br />

<a href="/images/flowers/img076.jpg">View larger image</a> </div>

<p>Baron Haller in his most admirable <em>Monographia</em> on the plants of this genus, published in his <em>Opuscula Botanica</em>, describes and figures this species, a hardy perennial, being a native of Switzerland, and cultivated according to Mr. Aiton, in the garden at Oxford in 1766.</p>

<p>It usually grows to the height of three feet, thriving in almost any soil or situation, its flowers as in many other species grow in a capitulum or little head, not an umbel, strictly speaking, as Linn&aelig;us describes it; this head is at first covered with a whitish membrane, wearing some resemblance to a night-cap, on the falling off of which the whole of the capitulum is perceived to be of a green colour, shortly the crown of it becomes of a fine reddish purple, this colour extends itself gradually downwards, presently we see the upper half of the head purple, the lower half green, in this state it has a most pleasing appearance; the purple still extending downwards, the whole head finally becomes uniformly so, and then its flowers begin to open, and emit an odour rather agreeable than otherwise; on dissecting a flower we find three of the stamina in each longer than the others, and bearing two little points, which proceed not from the anther&aelig;, but from the top of the filaments, it is therefore one of those Alliums which Linn&aelig;us describes, as having <em>Anther&aelig; bicornes</em>.</p>

<p>This species increases readily by offsets, which should be separated and planted in Autumn.</p>

<p>We know not why Linn&aelig;us should give it the name of <em>descendens</em>, unless from its being one of those plants whose roots in process of time descend deeply into the earth.</p>