False garlic

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False garlic flower

False garlic leaves

False garlic inflorescence

False garlic

False garlic

False garlic

Morphology

Stem

Flowering stalks erect, arising from spherical bulbs about 3/4 inch thick.

Leaves

Basal, 2-6, grass-like, 4 to 10 inches long, less than 1/5 inch wide, flat; tips blunt or somewhat pointed.

Inflorescence

Umbels, 3-11-flowered, terminal; subtended by 2 spathe bracts; bracts lanceolate, papery, many-nerved, downward pointing, eventually withering.

Flower

On thread-like stalks of unequal length; perianth segments 6, thin, about 1/3 inch long, white to greenish white, yellow toward base inside, distinct lavender to reddish purple nerve on back; tips pointed; stamens 6.

Fruit

Capsules, about 1/5 inch long, with 3 compartments; seeds football-shaped, angular, black, 3 or more per compartment.

Ecology

Habitat

Prairies, open woods, disturbed sites, ditches, and rocky exposed ledges, most abundant on sandy soils.

Distribution

East 1/2 of Kansas.

Additional Notes