Flora of North America species comparison

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Nothoscordum

false garlic, false onion
Habit Herbs, perennial, scapose, from bulbs.
Bulbs

in general appearance very similar to some species of Allium, without alliaceous odor;

outer coats membranous.
Leaves

usually present at flowering time, basal, imbricate, sheathing basally;

blade filiform to linear.
Inflorescences

umbellate, subtended by spathe bracts;

bracts 2, membranous.
Flowers

fastigiate, withering-persistent;

tepals 6, 2-whorled, connate proximal 1/3, 1-veined, subequal;

stamens 6, adnate to tepal bases, included;

filaments distinct, ± dilated basally, subulate and entire apically;

anthers dorsifixed, oblong, introse;

ovary superior, sessile, 3-locular;

ovules several(–12);

style filiform;

stigma terminal, small.
Fruits

capsular, 3-lobed, membranous, dehiscence loculicidal.
Seeds

black, angled [compressed or almost flat].

Nothoscordum
Distribution
from USDA
North America; South America
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 19 (2 in the flora).

All species of Nothoscordum are native to the Americas. Nothoscordum gracile has become naturalized in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia; it spreads rapidly by seeds and bulblets.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaves 4–12 mm wide; flowers fragrant; tepals connate to 1/3 their length.
N. gracile
1. Leaves 1–4(–5) mm wide; flowers not fragrant; tepals distinct or nearly so.
N. bivalve
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 276. Authors: T. D. Jacobsen, Dale W. McNeal Jr..
Parent taxa Liliaceae
Subordinate taxa
N. bivalve, N. gracile
Name authority Kunth: Enum. Pl. 4: 457. (1843)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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