Burke: Allium geyeri vs. Allium schoenoprasum

	Allium geyeri	Allium schoenoprasum
	Geyer's onion	chives
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 perennials from elongate, clustered bulbs, inner coats whitish or pinkish, outer coats grayish or brownish, minutely striate.
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 usually 2, terete, hollow, 1-7 mm. thick, partially sheathing and shorter than the scape; scape 2-5 dm. tall, rather stout, terete.
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 several- to many-flowered, pedicels slender, shorter than the tepals; tepals 8-12 mm. long, elliptic to lanceolate, pointed, the tips recurved, pale to deep lilac or white; stamens 6, over the length of the tepals.
Fruits	Capsule 3-celled.	Capsule 3-celled, without a crest.

	Allium geyeri	Allium schoenoprasum
Flowering time	May-June	April - August
Habitat	Low meadows and along streams.	Wet meadows, rocky or gravelly streambanks and lake shores
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 east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon and Nevada, east to the Rocky Mountains, further east across Canada to the Great Lakes region and eastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Both native and introduced populations
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. cernuum, A. columbianum, A. constrictum, A. crenulatum, A. dictuon, A. douglasii, A. fibrillum, A. geyeri, A. macrum, A. nevii, A. robinsonii, 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 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 schoenoprasum

Geyer's onion

chives

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 perennials from elongate, clustered bulbs, inner coats whitish or pinkish, outer coats grayish or brownish, minutely striate.

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 usually 2, terete, hollow, 1-7 mm. thick, partially sheathing and shorter than the scape;

scape 2-5 dm. tall, rather stout, terete.

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 several- to many-flowered, pedicels slender, shorter than the tepals;

tepals 8-12 mm. long, elliptic to lanceolate, pointed, the tips recurved, pale to deep lilac or white;

stamens 6, over the length of the tepals.

Fruits

Capsule 3-celled.

Capsule 3-celled, without a crest.

Allium geyeri

Allium schoenoprasum

Flowering time

May-June

April - August

Habitat

Low meadows and along streams.

Wet meadows, rocky or gravelly streambanks and lake shores

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 east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon and Nevada, east to the Rocky Mountains, further east across Canada to the Great Lakes region and eastern North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Both native and introduced populations

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa