Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

WILD ONION

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Allium canadense L.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 6-36 inches

Family: Liliaceae - Lily Family

Flowering Period: May, June

Stems:

Flowering stalks erect, stout, leafless, arising from bulbs .5 to 1.25 inches thick.

Leaves:

Basal, 2 or more, linear, 4 to 12 inches long, less than 1/4 inch wide, channeled.

Inflorescences:

Umbels, erect, many-flowered, terminal; subtended by 3 spathe bracts, each conspicuously 3-7 nerved.

Flowers:

Perianths bell-shaped, on stalks .5 to 1.5 inch long, white or pinkish; perianth segments 6, elliptic-lanceolate; tips blunt or pointed; withering away from fruits; stamens 6, barely shorter than perianth.

Fruits:

Capsules, short, rounded; seeds 1-2, shiny, black.

Habitat:

Prairies and roadsides, often on rocky soils.

Distribution:

Statewide

Origin:

Native

Uses:

Native Americans used Allium species as food, consuming the bulbs raw, fried, or cooked in soups.

Comments:

Allium canadense is highly variable. Four varieties occur in Kansas. In some, the flowers are replaced by bulblets. When grazed, wild onion will give milk an onion or garlic flavor.

Wild onion inflorescence