Allium guttatum Steven, 1809

Allium guttatum imageSynonyms: None

Common names: Engl: Spotted onion; Russ: Luk krapchaty; Turk: Kiyi sogani; Ukr: Tsybulya krapchasta

Order: AMARYLLIDALES

Family: ALLIACEAE

Taxonomic descriptions: It is a bulbous perennial grass plant 30-70 cm in height. Daughter bulbs and substituting bulb capsules are yellow or grey. Leaves are semicylindrical and have a chute on the top side, not narrowed to petioles. A stem thickness is about 7 mm. Flowers are associated in the top umbel floscule (without bulbs) enclosed into cover. Perianth petals are about 2.5-3.0 mm lengthwise, white with violet or brown spot in the middle, have one vein, perianth petals are combined at a base. Stamen threads are longer than perianth petals on a quarter. Interior stamen threads are extended to a top, three-toothed. A middle tooth carrying an anther is shorter than thread-like lateral ones.

Allium guttatum arealIUCN Status:
    World level: NE
    Black Sea Regional level: EN
    Subregion level: CR in Ukraine

Distribution:

Habitats type, Critical habitats, Limiting factors: Littoral strip, coastal sands and cockle-shells, steppe hillsides. Critical habitats: Arabat spit sands, steppe hillsides near Simferopol. Limiting factors: small natural population size and limited distribution.

Biology: Flowering season - during July-August. Reproduction - by seeds and vegetatively.

Population trends: The population is not numerous, with a tendency to decrease.

Threats: Habitats destruction because of building, cattle grazing; elimination by local inhabitants, creation of local market-gardening.

Conservation measures taken: Special measures are absent.

Conservation measures proposed: Regular monitoring of population state; the species should be entered in the national Red Data Lists of Black Sea countries.

References:

  1. Davis P.H. 1965-1985. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. Vols.1-9. - Edinburgh at the University Press.
  2. Rubtsov, N.I. (ed.), 1972. Opredelitel' vysshikh rasteniy Kryma. (Identification Book of the Crimean Higher Plants). Leningrad: Nauka, 550 pp., (in Russian).
  3. Luks, Y.A., Privalova, L.A., and Kryukova, I.V., 1976. Katalog redkikh, ischezayushchikh i unichtozhaemykh rasteniy flory Kryma, rekomenduyemykh dlya zapovednoy okhrany. (Catalogue of Rare, Disappearing and Exterminative Crimean Flora Plants Recommended for Protection). Yalta: GNBS, 24 pp., (in Russian).
  4. Novosad, V.V., 1992. Flora Kerchensko-Tamanskogo Regiona. (The Flora of the Kerch-Taman Region). Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 277 pp., (in Russian).
  5. Golubev, V.N., 1996. Biologicheskaya flora Kryma. (Biological Flora of the Crimea). Yalta: GNBS, 86 pp., (in Russian).

Compiled by: L.Vakhrusheva