ALLIUM (AMARYLLIDACEAE) SPECIES IN PAKISTAN: TWO NEW RECORDS AND A NEW SPECIES FROM ZHOB (BALOCHISTAN)

Allium caroli-henrici, A. registanicum are newly recorded from Zhob district of Pakistan, and a new species Allium zhobicum is described and illustrated. The new species belongs to Allium subg. Melanocrommyum sect. Thaumasioprason and is characterized by rounded bulbs with coriaceous outer tunics, entire to papillate linear leaves, lilac to white scarcely recurved, elliptical linear to oblong tepals and a six-lobed ovary with exserted stigma and violet style. The key to Allium species in Flora of Pakistan is amended including the diagnostic characters of the newly recorded species.


Introduction
Allium L is a genus with currently more than 980 accepted species making it one of the largest monocotyledonous genera of the world (Govaerts et al., 2020) mainly distributed throughout the northern hemisphere (Hanelt, 1990;Fritsch & Friesen, 2002;Friesen et al., 2006). Worldwide about 50 species are important as widely or locally cultivated plants. Moreover, many wild alliums are collected by the local population for human consumption as spices, vegetables and medical plants, and also as ornamentals. Several wild species own a great potential as valuable part of the daily human diet, and as part of the fodder for livestock (Fritsch & Abbasi, 2013). Molecular marker analyses support to classify Allium into 15 subgenera and about 80 sections (Friesen et al., 2006;Fritsch et al., 2010). The genus Allium was formerly included in the Liliaceae family or as separate family Alliaceae, but the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) reassessed the taxonomic position of this genus and related genera that are currently placed in the Amaryllidaceae family (Anon., 2009).
During field studies in the district Zhob (northern Balochistan) some Allium species were collected. Two of them were identified as A. caroli-henrici Wendelbo and A. registanicum Wendelbo earlier not recorded for Pakistan, and one species could not be identified when compared with the species described in the Flora of Pakistan (Nasir, 1975) and Flora Iranica (Wendelbo, 1971). This species is newly described and illustrated here. In Pakistan, 41 Allium species were formerly recorded (Nasir, 1975), and with the addition of these 3 species, this genus is represented by 44 species now.

Diagnosis:
The shape of ovary is most similar to A. mirum Wendelbo, but this species has papery outer bulb tunics and up to 8cm broad, elliptical leaves, a campanulate perigonium, up to 3 cm long pedicels, and longer obovate tepals of brown purple colour. The violet upper parts of filaments are similar to those of A. hindukuschense Kamelin & Seisums, but A. zhobicum differs from A. hindukuschense by much broader and scarcely recurved tepals of lilac colour and with rounded apices, and spherical ovaries.

Vernacular name: Sur Khatol
Distribution: Previously only reported as endemic from SW and C. Afghanistan in the provinces Farah, Daykundi and Urozgan (Wendelbo, 1971;Breckle et al., 2013). Newly found in Pakistan in Qamardin Karez west of Zhob district along the border with Afghanistan. A very rare species in our area.
Ecology: Found in red clay loam soils.
Ecology: Usually found in sandy to sandy gravel soil in the plains