Botanical name: Allium przewalskianum    Family: Amaryllidaceae (Nargis family)
Synonyms: Allium stoliczkii, Allium jacquemontii var. parviflorum

Ladakh Onion is pretty onion-like plant with slender, tightly clustered bulbs with bright orange bases. It is named for Nicolai Przewalski, 19th century Russian explorer and naturalist. Fine, cylindrical leaves, 0.5-1.5 mm wide, are shorter or longer than the flowering stems. The wiry flower stems,10-40 cm long, each carry a round head of bright purple flowers, infused with pink. The heads are crammed with flowers but as each is held on a long pedicel, the head has a delicate, open, airy grace to it. Flower clusters are hemispheric to spherical, densely many flowered. Flower-stalks are nearly 2-3 times as long as perianth. Style is much longer than ovary, protruding. Ladakh Onion is found in Mongolia, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, at altitudes of 2000-4800 m. Flowering: June-September.

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The flower labeled Ladakh Onion is ...