Burke: Allium columbianum vs. Allium cernuum

	Allium columbianum	Allium cernuum
	Columbia onion	nodding onion
Habit	Scapose perennial herbs from bulbs not usually clustered on a stout primary rhizome, the inner coats white to pink, the outer coats brownish to grayish, lacking reticulation and enclosing at least 1 bulb.	Scapose perennial herbs from clustered, elongate bulbs, the inner coats usually pinkish, the outer coats grayish or brownish.
Leaves	Leaves typically persistent, green at time of flowering, sheathing basally with sheaths not extending far above soil surface; blade solid and flat, somewhat curved, 10-35 cm long and 5-8 mm wide, margins entire; scape persistent and solitary, cylindrical, 20-30 cm tall and 1.5-4 mm wide.	Leaves several per bulb, concave-convex to plane in cross section1-6 mm. broad, shorter than the scape, persistent at maturity; scape 1-5 dm. tall, usually terete, abruptly recurved near the apex;
Inflorescence	Umbels of 25-50 flowers, hemispheric to globose; scape persistent and solitary, cylindrical, 20-30 cm tall and 1.5-4 mm wide; spathe bracts 3, ovate.
Flowers	Tepals 6, light or bright purple to purplish pink, lanceolate, acuminate, margins entire, becoming papery in fruit; stamens 6, equal to or longer than tepals with blue-grey anthers; ovary 3-chambered, stigma capitate.	Umbel few-to many-flowered, the slender pedicels 2-3 times the length of the tepals; perianth bell-shaped, the 6 segments 4-6 mm. long, elliptic-ovate, obtuse, entire, pink or white; stamens 6, exerted; style filiform, exerted; stigma capitate.
Fruits		Capsule 3-celled, crested with 6 distinct, flattened processes.
Fruits	Capsule dehiscing lengthwise along back of carpal, containing 2 shiny black seeds.

	Allium columbianum	Allium cernuum
Flowering time	May-July	May-July
Habitat	Seasonally wet soils on rock outcrops, wet meadows.	Open, somewhat moist areas, sea level to high elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in far eastern Washington; Washington to Idaho and Montana. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains; also in central and southeastern U.S. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	A. acuminatum, A. amplectens, A. campanulatum, A. cernuum, A. constrictum, A. crenulatum, A. dictuon, A. douglasii, A. fibrillum, A. geyeri, A. macrum, A. nevii, A. robinsonii, A. schoenoprasum, A. scilloides, A. textile, A. tolmiei, A. validum, A. vineale	A. acuminatum, A. amplectens, A. campanulatum, A. columbianum, A. constrictum, A. crenulatum, A. dictuon, A. douglasii, A. fibrillum, A. geyeri, A. macrum, A. nevii, A. robinsonii, A. schoenoprasum, A. scilloides, A. textile, A. tolmiei, A. validum, A. vineale
Web links	Local floras: WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Scapose perennial herbs from bulbs not usually clustered on a stout primary rhizome, the inner coats white to pink, the outer coats brownish to grayish, lacking reticulation and enclosing at least 1 bulb.

Scapose perennial herbs from clustered, elongate bulbs, the inner coats usually pinkish, the outer coats grayish or brownish.

Leaves

Leaves typically persistent, green at time of flowering, sheathing basally with sheaths not extending far above soil surface;

blade solid and flat, somewhat curved, 10-35 cm long and 5-8 mm wide, margins entire;

scape persistent and solitary, cylindrical, 20-30 cm tall and 1.5-4 mm wide.

Leaves several per bulb, concave-convex to plane in cross section1-6 mm. broad, shorter than the scape, persistent at maturity;

scape 1-5 dm. tall, usually terete, abruptly recurved near the apex;

Inflorescence

Umbels of 25-50 flowers, hemispheric to globose;

scape persistent and solitary, cylindrical, 20-30 cm tall and 1.5-4 mm wide;

spathe bracts 3, ovate.

Flowers

Tepals 6, light or bright purple to purplish pink, lanceolate, acuminate, margins entire, becoming papery in fruit;

stamens 6, equal to or longer than tepals with blue-grey anthers;

ovary 3-chambered, stigma capitate.

Umbel few-to many-flowered, the slender pedicels 2-3 times the length of the tepals;

perianth bell-shaped, the 6 segments 4-6 mm. long, elliptic-ovate, obtuse, entire, pink or white;

stamens 6, exerted;

style filiform, exerted;

stigma capitate.

Fruits

Capsule 3-celled, crested with 6 distinct, flattened processes.

Fruits

Capsule dehiscing lengthwise along back of carpal, containing 2 shiny black seeds.

Allium columbianum

Allium cernuum

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

Seasonally wet soils on rock outcrops, wet meadows.

Open, somewhat moist areas, sea level to high elevations in the mountains.

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in far eastern Washington; Washington to Idaho and Montana.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains; also in central and southeastern U.S.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)

Not of concern

Sibling taxa