Plants in Israel: Dwarf Garlic

Allium curtum, Dwarf Garlic,
Hebrew: שום קצר, Arabic: ثوم قصير

Scientific name:   Allium curtum Boiss. & Gaill.
Common name:   Dwarf Garlic
Hebrew name:   שום קצר
Arabic name:   ثوم قصير
Family:   Amaryllidaceae, נרקיסיים
Subfamily:   Allioideae (formerly treated as a separate family, Alliaceae)
Tribe:   Allieae (comprises a single genus, Allium)
Genus:   Allium, שום


Life form:   Geophyte
Stems:   Herbaceous stem
Leaves:   Alternate, rosette, entire, smooth
Flowers:   Purple, green
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Sand
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Allium, onion, chive and garlic. From the classical Latin name for garlic.

curtum, curtus, curt, shortened, short.
The Hebrew word: שום, shum, Akkadian: sumu; Aramaic: Thomas; שום, אכדית: sumu; ארמית: תומא

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Gaill.is used to indicate Charles Gaillardot (1814 – 1883), a French surgeon and botanist.

Allium curtum resembles Allium rotundum in height.