Allium howellii explained

Allium howellii is a North American species of wild onion known by the common name Howell's onion. It is endemic to California.

Description

Allium howellii is a tall onion plant, producing a stem which may exceed half a meter in height from a reddish-brown bulb one to two centimeters long. There is a single cylindrical leaf about as long as the stem. The inflorescence holds up to 100 dark-veined lavender to white flowers, each under a centimeter long.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Varieties

Several varieties have been named:^[4]

• Allium howellii var. clokeyi Ownbey & Aase ex Traub^[5] - San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara counties
• Allium howellii var. howellii - Merced, Fresno, Kern, San Luis Obispo counties
• Allium howellii var. sanbenitense (Traub) Ownbey & Aase ^[6] - San Benito County

Distribution and habitat

Howell's onion grows in the granite and serpentine soils of several mountain ranges, hills, and valleys from San Joaquin County to San Bernardino County.^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

External links

• Calflora Database: Allium howellii (Howell's onion)
• Jepson eFlora (TJM2): Allium howellii
• UC Photos gallery of Allium howellii

Notes and References

1. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101365 Flora of North America Allium howellii
2. http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8349,8354,8381 Jepson Manual Treatment
3. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ALHO2 USDA Plants Profile
4. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=295726 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
5. Traub, Hamilton Paul. 1972. Plant Life 28: 63–64
6. Traub, Hamilton Paul, & Aase, Hannah Caroline. 1959. in Munz, Philip Alexander & Keck, David Daniels. California Flora page 1376
7. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13171172#page/133/mode/1up Eastwood, Alice 1938. New Species in Liliaceae. Leaflets of Western Botany 2(7): 109
8. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/18401682 Tropicos, Allium howellii Eastw.
9. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Allium+howellii Calflora Consortium of California Herbaria Taxon Report 199, Allium howellii Eastw., Howell's onion
10. http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Allium%20howellii.png Biota of North America 2013 county distribution map