Pale garlic

Allium paniculatum, the panicled garlic or Mediterranean onion, is a bulbous perennial herb in the family Amaryllidaceae native to southern and central Europe, North Africa, and southwestern Asia. The slender, ovoid bulb is 1–2 cm in diameter and produces a single erect, smooth flowering stem 30–80 cm tall. Two to four narrow, semi-cylindrical to channelled leaves arise from the base or low on the stem, often withering by the time the plant flowers. The inflorescence is a loose, paniculate umbel enclosed in bud by two papery bracts that are persistent and noticeably long-pointed, often exceeding the flowers. Individual flowers are bell-shaped, 4–7 mm long, on long, unequal pedicels and vary from pale pink and lilac to whitish or greenish-cream; the six tepals are oblong with a darker midrib. The fruit is a small three-lobed capsule containing black seeds. The species inhabits dry meadows, stony slopes, roadsides and open woodland from sea level to about 1,500 m.