Allium praecox

Summary

Allium praecox is a species of wild onion known by the common name early onion.

Allium praecox
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Allioideae
Genus: Allium
Subgenus: A. subg. Amerallium
Species:
A. praecox
Binomial name
Allium praecox
Synonyms

Allium hyalinum var. praecox (Brandegee) Jeps.

Distribution edit

It is native to the hills and mountains of southern California and Baja California, where it grows in shady areas in clay soils at elevations up to 800 m.

The species has been reported from Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Orange and San Diego Counties. This includes some populations on the Channel Islands.[1][2]

Description edit

Allium praecox grows from a brownish or grayish bulb between one and two centimeters long. The scape is round in cross-section, up to 60 cm long. A single plant generally has two or three long, keeled leaves about the same length as the scape or sometimes a little longer.

The umble consistes up to 40 flowers, each on a long pedicel up to 4 cm long, the flowers up to 15 mm across. The tepals are pink with darker purple veins. Anthers are purple or yellow; pollen yellow.[1][3][4][5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Flora of North America v 26 p 263 Allium praecox
  2. ^ USDA Plants Profile
  3. ^ Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley. Allium praecox
  4. ^ Allium praecox Photo gallery
  5. ^ Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert. 2 vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford.

External links edit

  • Jepson Manual Treatment