Allium acuminatum explained

Allium acuminatum, also known as the tapertip onion or Hooker's onion, is a species in the genus Allium native to North America.

Distribution

It is found the Western United States and Canada. It has been reported from every state west of the Rocky Mountains, plus British Columbia.

Description

Allium acuminatum produces bulbs that are spherical, less than 2 cm across and smelling like onions.Turner, Nancy J. Food Plants of Interior First Peoples (Victoria: UBC Press, 1997) Scape is up to 40 cm tall, wearing an umbel of as many as 40 flowers. The flowers are pink to purple with yellow anthers.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} The plant also produces two or three grooved leaves which tend to wither prior to bloom.^[7] Its native habitats include open, rocky slopes, among brush and pines.^[8]

The onions were eaten by first peoples in southern British Columbia. They were harvested in either early spring or late fall and usually cooked in pits. Both the bulb and the flowering stalk are edible; however, in the culinary arts, the stalk possesses a more pleasant flavour.

External links

• • Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Flora of North America

Notes and References

1. http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=66554 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, isotype of "Allium acuminatum"
2. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/415463#page/187/mode/1up Hooker, William Jackson. 1838. Flora Boreali-Americana 2: 184, pl. 196.
3. Cronquist, A.J., A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren & Reveal. 1977. Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. 6: 1–584. In A.J. Cronquist, A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren (eds.) Intermountain Flora. Hafner Pub. Co., New York.
4. Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley
5. Hitchcock, C. H., A.J. Cronquist, F. M. Ownbey & J. W. Thompson. 1969. Vascular Cryptogams, Gymnosperms, and Monocotyledons. 1: 1–914. In C. L. Hitchcock, Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle.
6. Scoggan, H. J. 1978 [1979]. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Monocotyledoneae. 2: 93–545. In Flora of Canada. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa.
7. Book: Taylor, Ronald J.. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary. Mountain Press Pub. Co. 1994. 0-87842-280-3. rev.. Missoula, MT. 76. en. 25708726. 1992.
8. Web site: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin. 2021-12-11. www.wildflower.org.