The île d'Yeu leek (𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑣𝑎𝑟. 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑚 Lloyd.):

Like Babington's leek, the île d'Yeu leek is considered an ancient cultivated relic.

It is characterized by its bulbiferous inflorescences, whose bulbils develop a purple coloration when exposed to light, a unique trait within the species.

Its pseudostems are well suited for culinary use, reaching up to 3 cm in diameter and 45–47 cm in length, with a garlic aroma.

In addition to its bulbils, it produces two large, chestnut-shaped underground cloves that allow it to persist as a perennial.

Within living memory, this leek has always been known on the small island of île d'Yeu. 

It grows throughout the island, where it continues to be harvested from the wild and cultivated by local people, continuing a much older tradition.

Its presence on the island long predates the earliest written records. The earliest known botanical record dates back to the 19th century, when James Lloyd described it under the name 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑣𝑎𝑟. 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑚 in the third edition of Flore de l'Ouest de la France, published in 1876.

During the 1990s, this remarkable accession became the subject of multidisciplinary studies carried out by French researchers from INRA specializing in the ampeloprasum complex.

Its cytology was investigated in 1991 by Monique Guern, Josiane Le Corff and Josette Boscher, who described it as a sterile hexaploid accession (2n = 6x = 48), and its chemical composition was studied the same year by Josette Boscher and Jacques Auger, who demonstrated a marked predominance of allyl-containing sulfur compounds, characteristic of cultivated garlic, over the propyl-containing sulfur compounds typical of leeks.

This accession was collected directly on île d'Yeu by JSR in 2023.

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