Botany of the Onions 



159 



sending out flower-bearing (and bulbel-bearing) branches. 

 Var. solaninum, Alef. 1. e. 300. (Var. multipUcans, Bailey, 

 Princ. Yeg. Gard. Ed. 1, 316. 1901.) Potato Onion. Multi- 

 plier Onion. Plant propagating by the natural division of the 

 parent bulb: flowering stems (not often produced) short and 

 slender, the umbel few-flowered. 



3. A. fistulosum, Linn. Sp. PI. 301. Welsh Onion. Spring 

 Onion. Ciboule. Differs from A. Cepa in its more clustered 

 or cespitose habit, more leafy and the leaves usually equaling 

 or surpassing the stem, the bulbs little exceeding the broad 

 soft stem-base : stem short and stout, 12 to 20 in. high, much 

 swollen throughout its middle part and tapering to the flower- 

 head : flowers white or hyaline, in a dense terminal head, 

 stamens long-exserted, alternate filaments broadened 'at the 

 base, -perianth % ia. long and about equaling or even exceed- 

 ing the pedicel, segments long-acuminate : seeds onion-like, 

 about 2 mg. in weight. — Native in Asia. 



4. A. ascalonicum, Linn. Amoen. Acad, iv, 454. 1788. Shal- 

 lot. Differs from A. Cepa in its small stature, slender awl- 

 like leaves, and small ovate-oblong or oblong-conical gray 

 more or less angular bulbs that break up into several distinct 

 bulbs that cohere at the base : flowers (seldom produced) white 

 or violet, in globose heads, the perianth scarcely exceeding 

 the pedicel, segments spreading, oblong-lanceolate and acute. 

 — Supposed to be Asian, but not certainly known in an indig- 

 enous state; by some writers thought to be a form of A. Cepa. 

 It is doubtful whether the true shallot is in common cultiva- 

 tion ; see page 15(]. The plant bears the name of Ascalon, east- 

 ern Mediterranean. 



5. A. sativum, Linn. Sp. PI. 296. Garlic. A weak-grow- 

 ing flat-leaved plant of strong characteristic odor, producing 

 several distinct hard parts or cloves, each with its integument, 

 all inclosed in a silky-thin white or pink envelope comprising 

 the compound mother bulb (the delicate envelopes sometimes 

 decay and vanish if the mature bulbs are left too long in the 

 ground, particularly if the season or the place is wet) ; planted 

 in early spring, these cloves grow rapidly, produce another 



