Allium cyathophorum
A. cyathophorum var. farreri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Subgenus:	A. subg. Cyathophora
Species:	A. cyathophorum
Binomial name
Allium cyathophorum Bureau & Franch.

Allium cyathophorum is a Chinese (杯花韭, bei hua jiu) species of flowering plant in the onion genus Allium of the family Amaryllidaceae.^[1] It grows at elevations from 2700 metres up to 4600 metres.^[2]

Description

This bulbous herbaceous perennial has thick roots but thin, fibrous bulbs. The scapes are usually 2-angled, up to 15 cm (5.9 in) tall. The leaves are flat, narrowly linear, usually shorter than the scapes. The umbels are hemispheric (half spheres) with purple flowers.^[2][3]

Taxonomy

Allium cyathophorum is found in the third evolutionary line of the genus Allium. It is a member of the subgenus Cyathophora and is the type species for that subgenus.

Varieties

Two infraspecific varieties are recognized:^[2]

• Allium cyathophorum var. cyathophorum (Syn. Allium venustum C.H.Wright)^[4] --- tepals blunt-tipped - Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan
• Allium cyathophorum var. farreri (Stearn) Stearn (Syn. Allium farreri Stearn)^[5][6][7] -- tepals pointed at the tips - Gansu, Sichuan

William Stearn originally named Allium farreri in 1930 after Reginald Farrer, but in 1950 realised it was a variety of Allium cyathophorum, and so renamed it.