Allium porrum (Leek)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) >  Monocotyledons >  Order: Asparagales >  Family: Alliaceae >  Genus: Allium

The swollen, overlapping leaf bases of the Leak are eaten cooked as a vegetable. The Leek originates from the wild species Allium ampeloprasum which occurs from Portugal and North Africa eastwards to Turkey, Iran and about Tajikistan. The Leak is the national plant of the Welsh.

Text by Hamish Robertson