Allium notabile
Allium notabile
Safety & Hazards
Although no individual reports regarding this species have been seen, there have been cases of poisoning caused by the consumption, in large quantities and by some mammals, of certain members of this genus. Dogs seem to be particularly susceptible[ 76 Title Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. Publication Author Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Publisher HMSO Year 1984 ISBN 0112425291 Description Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock. ].
Botanical Description
Allium notabile is a perennial plant growing from an ovoid bulb around 10 - 15mm in diameter; it produces 3 - 5 leaves and a flowering stem around 37 - 75cm tall[ 2258 Title Flora of Iraq; Volume 8, Monocotyledones Publication Author Townsend C.C. & Guest E. (Editors) Publisher Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform; Baghdad Year 1985 ISBN Description ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. Allium notabile was first described in 1971, but then was not recorded until its rediscovery in 2013. The exact status of the plant is uncertain; pessimistically, if the 4 sites currently know are the only sites where the plant grows, then there could be not much more than 100 plants in total and the species would be deemed 'Critically Endangered'. On a more optimistic note, it is reasonable to suppose that the range of the plant extends into southwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey, that more sites do exist and that the overall population is higher. Given the uncertainty, the plant is classified as 'Data Deficient' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].