Article

A revision of species in Allium subsect. Allium occurring on the Maltese Islands was done on field and herbarium data. A. ampeloprasum L., the presumed endemic A. melitense (Borg.) Ciferri & Giacomini and A. commutatum Guss. are the three species mentioned in the Maltese floras within this group. The results clearly encompassed four different taxonomic units, corresponding to A. polyanthum Schult. & Schult. f. which has never been recorded for the Maltese Islands, two populations of A. commutatum and two forms (one sterile, one fertile) of their putative hybrid A. commutatum × A. polyanthum growing on few coastal areas. A. ampeloprasum is excluded from the Maltese islands while A. melitense is synonymised with A. polyanthum. All past records of A. commutatum (apart from a giant form) are referred to A. polyanthum. Moreover, A.. commutatum × A. polyanthum is reported from Sicily for the first time.