Allium cernuum |
Allium lemmonii |
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lady's leek, nodding onion |
Lemmon's onion |
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Bulbs | 2–5+, clustered, often short-rhizomatous at base, rhizome not stout or iris-like, oblong, elongate, 1–3 × 0.8–1.5 cm; outer coats enclosing 1 or more bulbs, grayish or brownish, membranous, minutely striate, cells in regular vertical rows, narrowly elongate, fibers persistent, parallel, few; inner coats white to pink or reddish, cells in regular vertical rows, narrowly elongate. |
1–5+, not clustered on stout primary rhizome, ovoid, 1.5–2.2 × 1–2 cm; outer coats enclosing 1 or more bulbs, brown, membranous, ± prominently cellular-reticulate, cells in ± regular vertical rows, narrowly rectangular, transversely elongate, without fibers; inner coats white to light brown, cells ± narrowly rectangular, transversely elongate, or quadrate. |
Leaves | persistent, green at anthesis, 3–5, basally sheathing, sheaths not extending much above soil level; blade solid, flat, channeled to broadly V-shaped in cross section, 10–25 cm × 1–6 mm, margins entire or denticulate. |
usually deciduous with scape, green or withering only at tip at anthesis, 2, basally sheathing, sheaths not extending much above soil surface; blade solid, flat, falcate, 8–30 cm × 3–5 mm, margins entire. |
Scape | persistent, sometimes 2 or more produced successively from single bulb, usually clustered, nodding, solid, terete or ridged, particularly distally, sometimes flattened and narrowly winged, abruptly recurved near apex, 10–50 cm × 1–3 mm. |
usually forming abcission layer and deciduous with leaves after seeds mature, frequently breaking at this level after pressing, solitary, erect, solid, flattened, narrowly winged, 15–20 cm × 1–4 mm. |
Umbel | persistent, cernuous, loose, 8–35-flowered, hemispheric, bulbils unknown; spathe bracts persistent, 2, 3-veined, lanceolate, ± equal, apex acuminate, beakless. |
persistent, erect, compact to ± loose, 10–40-flowered, hemispheric, bulbils unknown; spathe bracts persistent, 2–3, 8–10-veined, broadly lanceolate to ovate, ± equal, apex long-acuminate. |
Flowers | campanulate, 4–6 mm; tepals ± erect, pink or white, elliptic-ovate, ± equal, withering in fruit, margins ± entire, apex ± obtuse, at least outer tepals strongly incurved, midribs not thickened; stamens exserted; anthers yellow; pollen yellow; ovary conspicuously crested; processes 6, flattened, ± triangular, margins entire or toothed; style exserted, linear, ± equaling stamens; stigma capitate, scarcely thickened, unlobed; pedicel 6–25 mm, becoming stouter in fruit, elongating and bending abruptly upward from near point of attachment. |
campanulate, 6–9 mm; tepals erect, pink to whitish, lance-ovate, ± equal, becoming ± rigid in fruit, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate; stamens ± equaling tepals; anthers light purple to yellow; pollen yellow; ovary obscurely crested; processes 6, low, central, 2 per lobe, margins entire; style linear, equaling stamens; stigma capitate, scarcely thickened, unlobed; pedicel 8–16 mm. |
Seed | coat dull or shining; cells smooth, minutely roughened, or each with minute, central papilla. |
coat dull; cells smooth. |
2n | = 14. |
= 14. |
Allium cernuum |
Allium lemmonii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Widely distributed on moist soils in mountainous and cool regions | Drying, clay soils |
Elevation | 600–3500 m (2000–11500 ft) | 1200–1900 m (3900–6200 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CO; DC; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MD; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NE; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; ON; SK; Mexico
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CA; ID; NV; OR; UT
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Discussion | Allium cernuum is the most widespread North American species of the genus. It is closely related to A. stellatum, and the character commonly used to differentiate them has been umbel orientation. In both species, the inflorescence is nodding in bud, but in A. stellatum it usually becomes erect by anthesis. In A. cernuum the peduncle remains permanently recurved near the apex, although the inflorescence may sometimes become erect overall, or nearly so. While this character is helpful in identification, an almost exclusive reliance on it (even by one of the present authors in his youth) has obscured other clearer distinctions between the species and has confused their geographic ranges. More reliable characters for differentiating these species are bulb shape (elongate in A. cernuum, ovoid in A. stellatum) and perianth shape (campanulate in A. cernuum, stellate in A. stellatum). Unfortunately, perianth shape is often difficult to see in herbarium specimens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 247. | FNA vol. 26, p. 270. |
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Allium | Liliaceae > Allium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. allegheniense, A. oxyphilum, A. recurvatum | A. incisum, A. scissum |
Name authority | Roth: Arch. Bot. (Leipzig) 1: 40. (1798) | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 234. (1879) |
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