Allium triquetrum - Three-cornered Leek

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Asparagales - Family: Amaryllidaceae

Allium triquetrum is an attractive plant, but it in Britain it is classed as an invasive alien species that must not be introduced or encouraged to spread.

Description

A relative of Wild Garlic (also known as Ramsons), Allium triquetrum has dense white 'bluebell-like' flowers with distinctive green stripes on the inside of its six flower petals. The stems are triangular in cross section, and the long strap-like leaves fold centrally to give them a vee shaped cross section.

Plants of Three-cornered Leek can grow to between 20 and 60cm in height, but unless supported by other vegetation they have a tendency to collapse untidily.

Distribution

These spring wildflowers are native to southern Europe but they are now naturalised in some parts of Britain and Ireland, particularly in southern coastal districts.

Habitat

This species favours hedgerows and damp, shady ditches.

Blooming Times

In Britain and Ireland, Allium triquetrum usually blooms in March and April, but it is an earlier-flowering species in southern Europe.

Etymology

Allium is the Latin word for garlic, while the specific epithet triquetrum refers to the triangular cross section of the stems.