Green onions, garlic, white skin, blue head, leeks, onions... These vegetables have a "foreign fragrance", which makes some people daunted and some people relish belong to a large family - allium plants. After several years of research, botanists in Zhejiang Province discovered a new allium plant, Tianmu leek, in Tianmu Mountain. Related academic papers have recently been published in the internationally renowned plant taxonomy journal Plant Taxonomy.
The picture shows a Tianmu leek taken on West Tianmu Mountain at the end of September 2022. Photo by Xu Yueliang
Xu Yueliang, the corresponding author of the paper and a research librarian of the Zhejiang Natural History Museum, told reporters that in order to compile the new edition of Flora of Zhejiang, botanists in Zhejiang have carried out extensive field investigations in recent years. In 2019, Chen Zhenghai, a professor-level senior engineer at the Zhejiang Forest Resources Monitoring Center, conducted a field investigation in the Xitianmu Mountain Area of Lin'an District of Hangzhou and first discovered this perennial herb. It grows under deciduous broad-leaved forests at an altitude of 1000 to 1500 meters, with flat leaves like leeks and hollow like onions, and is preliminarily judged to be a new species of allium and named Tianmu leek according to the place of discovery.
However, the formal identification of new species requires further research. Botanists first performed a morphological analysis of the Tianmu leek and found that it has the general characteristics of the Allium Korean Sorrel Formation. Later, they introduced the Tianmu leek indoors, and through DNA analysis, confirmed that it indeed belonged to the Allium genus Ichrothya group. The most well-known plants in this group are the bluehead and the inflorescence leek, but the leek differs from the "same group" in terms of leaf shape, inflorescence, filigree and phenological period.
The picture shows the inflorescence of the Tenmu leek. Photo by Xu Yueliang
Unlike the impression that the flowers of flowering plants grow directly on the stem, the flowers of allium plants grow on the flowers. The garlic we are familiar with is the flower of garlic. The leaves of the inflorescence leek are longer than the flowers, while the leaves of the Tenmu leek are longer than the leaves. At the same time, the leaves of the blue head are cylindrical with 3 to 5 edges, and the leaves of the Tianmu leek are also different from the blue head.
The phenological period of the Tianmu leek is even more interesting. Xu Yueliang said that leeks can be grown all year round; Many allium plants are "winter withered", withering in winter and growing in spring; But this plant is a rare "summer withered type". Every September, when Tianmu Mountain enters autumn, it blooms and only grows leaves in the late stage of flowering; In winter, when everything flies, it is lush and full of life, and it does not gradually wither until May of the following year.
The picture shows a Tianmu leek plant with bead buds. Photo by Xu Yueliang
At the same time, its breeding method also leaves two hands. Xu Yueliang said that some plants of Tianmu leeks bloom and rely on seeds to reproduce; Some plants have bead buds on their inflorescences, and when the flowers wither and touch the ground, the bead buds take root. Bead bud propagation is also a way of propagation of plants, and Allium can also be propagated by bead buds.
With more than 1,200 species worldwide, Allium is one of the largest genera of monocots, compared with 145 species in China. Xu Yueliang said that allium plants prefer cold and cold temperate regions, so there are not many varieties of allium plants in East and Central China, and this discovery has enriched the resources of allium plants in East China.
According to the latest plant classification system, Allium belongs to the Garlic family, so the Tianmu leek and daffodil, and junzi orchid are considered "the same family". Xu Yueliang said that locals occasionally pick some Tianmu leeks to eat in winter, called "wild leeks"; At the same time, because it can make up for the lack of grass and flowers in winter, it is also very promising in landscaping.
Source: People's Network
Editor: Gao Qin
Responsible editor: Yan Wenbin
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