ALLIUM (Lat. for "garlic"), a genus of plants, of the family Liliaceae, with about 325 species (eight of which occur in 13ritain), found in central and south Europe, north Africa, the dry country of west and central Asia, and North and Central America. The plants are bulbous herbs, with flat or rounded radi cal leaves and a certral naked or leafy stem, bearing a head or umbel of small flowers, with a spreading or bell-shaped white, pink, red, yellow or blue perianth. Several species afford useful foods such as onion (Allium Cepa), leek (A. Porrum), shallot or eschallot (A. ascalonicum), garlic (A. ursinum) and chives (A. Schoenoprasum). See CHIVES ; GARLIC; LEEK ; ONION ; SHALLOT.
In North America there are about 7o native species, most numerous in the Rocky Mountain region and in California where the majority are found. Among some o species occurring in the Eastern United States and Canada are the meadow garlic (A. canadensis), formerly used for food by the Indians; the wild leek (A. tricoccum), found in rich woods; the wild chives or rush-garlic (A. sibiricum), found from Maine to Alaska ; the nodding wild onion (A. cernuum), with inverted clusters of hand some flowers; and the prairie wild onion (A. stellatum), of rocky banks in the interior. The field garlic (A. vineale) of Europe, widely naturalized in meadows and pastures, is a troublesome weed tainting the flavour of butter.