The « Allium cupanii » group: a preliminary taxonomic, caryological and leaf anatomical study

Summary The plants hitherto referred to Allium cupanii are assigned to two distinct species, mainly on the base of a structural bulb character: A. cupanii Raf. from Sicily, S. Italy, the C. Balkans and S.W. Anatolia, and A. hirtovaginatum Kunth from the Baleares, the Maghreb, S. Greece, the Aegean region and Cyprus. Caryological investigation of three populations of A. hirtovaginatum and two of A. cupanii yielded chromosome numbers of uniformly 2n = 14 for the former, and of 2n = 16 and 32, respectively, for the latter; the caryogram, too, shows considerable diversity. Leaf anatomical study of one gathering of each species revealed significant differences in the structure of the epidermis and mesophyll and in the number of vascular bundles. Infraspecific variation in the flower morphology of both species is discussed, but not formally recognized. Together with A. parciflorum Viv. from Corsica and Sardinia, and the two eastern species A. callidictyon C. A. Meyer and A. kirindicum Bornm., the A. cupanii com...