Allium rhizomatum |
Allium schoenoprasum |
|
---|---|---|
spreading wild onion |
chive, wild chives |
|
Bulbs | solitary, not basally clustered, replaced annually by new bulbs borne terminally on rhizome; rhizomes 1–3, conspicuous, slender, 2–3 cm, scaly; parent bulbs persisting, often not collected, oblique-ovoid, 1–2.5 × 1 cm; outer coats enclosing parent bulbs, grayish, lacking cellular reticulation, membranous, without fibers; inner coats white or hyaline, cells obscure, ± quadrate. |
1 or more, clustered, short-rhizomatous at base, cylindric, elongate, 0.5–0.9 × 1.5–2 cm; outer coats enclosing bulbs, grayish or brownish, persisting as fibrous reticulum but often appearing membranous as outer coats are lost during collecting, cells minutely striate; inner coats whitish or pinkish, cells closely parallel, elongate. |
Leaves | persistent, green at anthesis, 2–3, basally sheathing, sheaths not extending much above soil surface; blade solid, flat, not falcate, 20–35 cm × 2–3 mm, margins entire. |
persistent, green at anthesis, usually 2, distalmost usually ensheathing 1/3–1/2 scape; blade hollow, terete, fistulose, 20–60 cm × 2–7 mm. |
Scape | solitary, erect, solid, terete, 20–30 cm × 1–3 mm. |
persistent, 2–12+, clustered, erect, terete, fistulose, 20–50 cm × 3–5 mm. |
Umbel | persistent, erect, loose, 5–15(–22)-flowered, globose to hemispheric, bulbils unknown; spathe bracts persistent, 2, 3-veined, ovate to lance-ovate, ± equal, apex acute. |
persistent, erect, compact, 30–50-flowered, ± subglobose, bulbils unknown; spathe bracts persistent, 2, 3–7-veined, lanceolate to broadly ovate, ± equal, apex short-acuminate. |
Flowers | stellate, 6–9 mm; tepals erect, pink with purplish or pinkish midveins, oblong to lanceolate, slightly carinate basally, ± equal, becoming papery in fruit, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate; stamens included; anthers yellow or pink; pollen yellow or white; ovary crestless, 3-grooved with thickened ridge on either side of groove; style linear, shorter than stamens; stigma capitate, scarcely thickened, unlobed; pedicel 10–20(–50) mm. |
campanulate, 8–12 mm; tepals erect, pale purple to deep lilac, drying pink, particularly on midrib, or white, elliptic to lanceolate, ± equal, becoming papery in fruit, permanently investing capsule, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate, tips ± recurved, midribs not thickened; stamens included; anthers purple; pollen white; ovary crestless; style linear, equaling stamens; stigma capitate, unlobed or obscurely lobed; pedicel 2–6 mm. |
Seed | coat shining; cells smooth. |
coat shining; cells minutely roughened, not pustuliferous. |
2n | = 28. |
= 16. |
Allium rhizomatum |
Allium schoenoprasum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jul–Sep. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Dry, usually grassy areas | Wet meadows, rocky or gravelly stream banks and lake shores, circumboreal |
Elevation | 1200–2200 m (3900–7200 ft) | 0–3500 m (0–11500 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico
|
AK; CO; CT; ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Siberia
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Discussion | Allium rhizomatum has often been included within the Mexican species A. glandulosum. This reduction is unwarranted. The perianth of A. rhizomatum is pale, with the color mainly confined to the midribs. Additionally, the species can be distinguished by its 3-lobed, apically 3-grooved ovary and lack of sepal glands. Allium glandulosum has a red perianth, an apically rounded ovary, and sepal glands. The nectar produced from these glands does not show in herbarium specimens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Allium schoenoprasum is native in North America, but it is also cultivated and has widely escaped. It is an extremely polymorphic species, and throughout its range both large and small races occur. These plants have been known as A. sibiricum, A. schoenoprasum var. sibiricum, or A. schoenoprasum var. laurentianum, and many, largely unsuccessful, attempts have been made to distinguish the varieties. Until the variation can be worked out along natural lines, if any, instead of unstable features such as plant size, and color and shape of the tepals, recognition of these varieties is unsound. Because we are unable to separate native populations from many of the escaped ones, we cannot reliably map the native distribution of this taxon in the flora. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26. | FNA vol. 26, p. 240. |
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Allium | Liliaceae > Allium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. schoenoprasum var. laurentianum, A. schoenoprasum var. sibiricum, A. sibiricum | |
Name authority | Wooton & Standley: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 16: 114. (1913) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 301. (1753) |
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