About Allium giganteum Regel
Allium giganteum Regel, commonly called giant onion or giant leek, is an Asian onion species belonging to the Alliaceae (onion) family. It is native to central and southwestern Asia, where it grows naturally in Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This species is now cultivated as a flowering garden plant in many countries around the world. It is the tallest Allium species in common cultivation, reaching heights of 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). From early to midsummer, it produces small, intensely purple rounded umbels. After flowering, it develops attractive fruiting umbels. Each globular umbel can hold thousands of tiny individual florets; a bulb dealer in Arcadia, California once counted 5286 florets from a single umbel. A popular cultivated variety of this species is 'Globemaster', which is shorter at 80 centimetres (31 in) but produces much larger deep violet umbels that measure 15–20 centimetres (5.9–7.9 in) across. Both the straight species and the 'Globemaster' cultivar have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. When grown in cultivation in the United States, Allium giganteum grows well in USDA hardiness zones 6 through 10. Consuming the flowers, seeds, leaves, and stems of this plant can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, due to sulfides the plant tissues contain.
