Burke: Allium geyeri vs. Allium cernuum

	Allium geyeri	Allium cernuum
	Geyer's onion	nodding onion
Habit	Scapose perennial, usually from a cluster of ovoid bulbs enclosed in fibrous, outer coats with a coarse network pattern; scapes 1-5 dm. tall, nearly terete.	Scapose perennial herbs from clustered, elongate bulbs, the inner coats usually pinkish, the outer coats grayish or brownish.
Leaves	Leaves usually 3 or more per scape, concave-convex in cross section, 1-5 mm. broad, usually shorter than the scape, green, becoming brown and persisting.	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;
Flowers	Umbels 10- to 25-flowered, the pedicels equal in length, nearly twice the length of the perianth, becoming stiffly spreading in fruit; tepals 6, 6-8 mm. long, ovate to lanceolate, pink to rarely white; stamens 6, shorter than the tepals; ovary inconspicuously crested with 6 low, rounded knobs.	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.	Capsule 3-celled, crested with 6 distinct, flattened processes.

	Allium geyeri	Allium cernuum
Flowering time	May-June	May-July
Habitat	Low meadows and along streams.	Open, somewhat moist areas, sea level to high elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern Vancouver Island to Arizona, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains. [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	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	A. acuminatum, A. amplectens, A. campanulatum, A. cernuum, A. columbianum, A. constrictum, A. crenulatum, A. dictuon, A. douglasii, A. fibrillum, 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
Subordinate taxa	A. geyeri var. geyeri, A. geyeri var. tenerum
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, 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

Allium geyeri

Allium cernuum

Geyer's onion

nodding onion

Habit

Scapose perennial, usually from a cluster of ovoid bulbs enclosed in fibrous, outer coats with a coarse network pattern; scapes 1-5 dm. tall, nearly terete.

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

Leaves

Leaves usually 3 or more per scape, concave-convex in cross section, 1-5 mm. broad, usually shorter than the scape, green, becoming brown and persisting.

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;

Flowers

Umbels 10- to 25-flowered, the pedicels equal in length, nearly twice the length of the perianth, becoming stiffly spreading in fruit;

tepals 6, 6-8 mm. long, ovate to lanceolate, pink to rarely white;

stamens 6, shorter than the tepals;

ovary inconspicuously crested with 6 low, rounded knobs.

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.

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

Allium geyeri

Allium cernuum

Flowering time

May-June

May-July

Habitat

Low meadows and along streams.

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

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern Vancouver Island to Arizona, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains.

[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

Not of concern

Sibling taxa