| Growth habit | densely clustered | solitary, rarely paired | densely clustered |
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| Outer bulb tunics | white, sometimes tinged with purple brown, membranous, entire | whitish black-brown to dirty black, membranous to scarious or subpapery, apex sometimes laciniate to fibrous | white, sometimes tinged with red, membranous, entire |
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| Leaves | shorter than scape, 3‒9.5 mm wide, flat, fistulose, appearing in autumn (October-November), withered in spring (May). | longer than scape, 2‒4 mm wide, 3- angled, subfistulose, evergreen | subequaling scape, 1‒3 mm wide, 3‒5-angled, fistulose, evergreen |
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| Scape | lateral, covered with leaf sheaths only at base | terminal, covered with leaf sheaths for 1/4‒1/3 of its length | lateral, covered with leaf sheaths only at base |
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| Spathe | 2‒3 valved, membranous, persistent | 1- or 2-valved, persistent | 2-valved, persistent |
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| Umbel | hemispheric, lax, few-flowered, bearing bulblets and flowers | subfascicled to globose, laxly many flowered | hemispheric, laxly flowered |
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| Perianth and Segment | perianth pale purple; segment with green midvein, free at base | perianth red to purple; segment with dark midvein, ovate-elliptic | perianth pale purple to dull purple; segment broadly elliptic to suborbicular |
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| Filaments | slightly broadened at base, entire | inner ones sometimes with 1 very small tooth on each side | outer ones subulate; inner ones broadened at base, 1-toothed on each side |
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