Allium caeruleum

Allium caeruleum (blue globe onion, blue ornamental onion, blue-of-the-heavens, blue-flowered garlic; syn. Allium azureum Ledeb.) is an ornamental bulbous plant of the onion genus, native to Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Xinjiang).[3][4][5]

blue-of-the-heavens Лук голубой 棱叶薤 leng ye xie
1847 illustration[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Species:	A. caeruleum
Binomial name
Allium caeruleum Pall.
Synonyms[2]
Allium azureum Ledeb. Allium caerulescens G.Don Allium viviparum Kar. & Kir.

This plant is cited in the Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe puis L'illustration horticole by Charles Antoine Lemaire. It grows to 80 cm (31"), producing strap-shaped leaves and small globes (umbels) of blue flowers in early Summer. The plant has been granted the British Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (1993).[6]

Gallery

• 
  Allium caeruleum var. bulbilliferum Egyptian Top Onion at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
• 
  Flower head closeup

References

1. illustration from Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe by Charles Lemaire and others. Gent, Louis van Houtte, 1847, volume 3 (plate 300).
2. The Plant List
3. "NC State University: Allium caeruleum". Archived from the original on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
4. Flora of China Allium caeruleum 棱叶薤 leng ye xie
5. Peter Simon von Pallas. 1773. Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des russischen Reichs 2: 727, pl. R.
6. "Allium caeruleum AGM". RHS Plant Finder. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 27 July 2013.