SAND LEEK

Allium Scorodoprasum

Onion & Garlic Family [Alliaceae]

Formerly in: Lily Family [Liliaceae]

flower

inner

petals

type

stem

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

Up to 2 feet tall, with leaves sheathing the stem like grass, the 12mm-20mm head is covered by two papery bracts.

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

The two bracts peel away revealing the contents to be a mixture of bulbils (small dark onion shaped objects, themselves covered in papery bracts) and twenty or so purple flowers projecting out on long stalks at any sort of angle. Arnside viaduct in background without steam train.

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

At various places long, round and narrow green serpent-like growths will emerge in due course from small beginnings.

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

The bulbils, greenish at first, turn a beetroot purple soon afterwards. The flowers have a semi-metallic sheen.

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

The flowers never fully open, and have six pointed petals without stamens protruding from them.

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

The bulbils look like tiny onions.

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

The bulbils look like tiny onions with their papery bracts still adorning them. It is these from which the 'green-serpents' emerge (bottom right).

3rd July 2010, seaside, Arnside, Cumbria.

Photo: © RWD

Arnside viaduct with 71000 2-6-4 Duke of Gloucester steaming on it.

Easily confused with : Crow Garlic but Crow Garlic has the stamens protruding from the flower, and its leaves are round whereas the leaves are flat and grass-like on Sand Leek. Also, Crow Garlic can grow larger than the 2 feet of Sand Leek; up to 4 feet tall.

No to be confused with : Garden Leek [a plant with similar name which belongs to the same family]

Some similarities to : Garlic, Rosy Garlic and Keeled Garlic

No relation to : Flower [a plant with similar name].

ANY TEXT GOES HERE

Distribution
family8Onion & Garlic family8Alliaceae

BSBI maps

Allium