Allium akaka S.G.Gmel. ex Schult. & Schult.F.

An onion family plant with a bulb. It grows to 15 cm tall and 12 cm wide. The bulb is 15-30 mm across. The leaves are wide. The flower stalk is 30 cm high and solid. The flower heads are round. The flowers are mauve to white.

It is a temperate plant. It grows naturally in dry stony places, scree slopes etc. between 1600 metres and 3000 metres in Turkey, Northern Iran and Russia. It grows in sunny well drained moist soils. They can probably tolerate cold temperatures down to about-5°C.

The bulb is eaten raw or cooked. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked. They are used in stews and vegetable dishes. The flowers are eaten raw as a garnish on salads.

Seed can be used to grow plants but these take a year to become established. Bulbs should be planted fairly deeply. Bulbs can be obtained by division of the clumps.