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Rosy garlic
	Inflorescence of Allium roseum, blooming in Brest, France
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Subgenus:	A. subg. Amerallium
Species:	A. roseum
Binomial name
	Allium roseum; L. 1753 not Krock. 1787
Synonyms
	Molium roseum (L.) Fourr.; Nectaroscordum roseum (L.) Galasso & Banfi;

Allium roseum, commonly called rosy garlic,^[3] is an edible, Old World species of wild garlic. It is native to the Mediterranean region and nearby areas, with a natural range extending from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey and the Palestine region. It is cultivated widely, and has become naturalised in scattered locations in other regions outside its natural range.^[2]

Description

Allium roseum grows naturally to about 18 inches (46 cm) high in well-drained soils, and in Europe blooms from late spring to early summer.^[4]

The inflorescences of A. roseum are umbels. The loose, fragrant florets are about 3 inches (76 mm) long, having six pinkish to lilac tepals.^[4]

The smell and flavour of the bulb is powerful enough to drive squirrels and browsing deer away from gardens, where they are planted as ornamental flowers. For this reason, they are suitable as companion plants to tulips and similar species.^[4]

Taxonomy

Allium roseum was originally described and published by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum in 1753.^[1]

Subspecies + varieties^[2]

Numerous names have been proposed at the subspecies and varietal levels within the species, but only a few are currently accepted:

Allium roseum subsp. gulekense Koyuncu & Eker - Turkey
Allium roseum subsp. roseum - most of species range
Allium roseum var. roseum - most of species range
Allium roseum var. tourneuxii Boiss. - Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria