Allium acuminatum
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|name=Tapertip onion
| taxon = Allium acuminatum
| parent = Allium subg. Amerallium
| image = Alliumacuminatum.JPG
| status = {{TNCStatus}}
| status_system = TNC
| authority = Hook.
|synonyms=*Allium acuminatum var. cuspidatum Fernald
- Allium cuspidatum (Fernald) Rydb.
- Allium elwesii Regel
- Allium murrayanum Regel
- Allium wallichianum Regel
|synonyms_ref=[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/18401620?tab=synonyms Tropicos]
}}
Allium acuminatum, also known as the tapertip onion or Hooker's onion, is a species in the genus Allium native to North America.
Distribution
It is found the Western United States and Canada. It has been reported from every state west of the Rocky Mountains, plus British Columbia.{{EFloras|1|242101329|Allium acuminatum}}{{BONAP|ref|genus=Allium|species=acuminatum}}
Description
Allium acuminatum produces bulbs that are spherical, less than 2 cm across and smelling like onions.Turner, Nancy J. Food Plants of Interior First Peoples (Victoria: UBC Press, 1997) {{ISBN|0-7748-0606-0}} Scape is up to 40 cm tall, wearing an umbel of as many as 40 flowers. The flowers are pink to purple with yellow anthers.[http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=66554 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, isotype of "Allium acuminatum"][https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/415463#page/187/mode/1up Hooker, William Jackson. 1838. Flora Boreali-Americana 2: 184, pl. 196.]Cronquist, A.J., A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren & Reveal. 1977. Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. 6: 1–584. In A.J. Cronquist, A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren (eds.) Intermountain Flora. Hafner Pub. Co., New York.Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, BerkeleyHitchcock, C. H., A.J. Cronquist, F. M. Ownbey & J. W. Thompson. 1969. Vascular Cryptogams, Gymnosperms, and Monocotyledons. 1: 1–914. In C. L. Hitchcock, Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle.Scoggan, H. J. 1978 [1979]. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Monocotyledoneae. 2: 93–545. In Flora of Canada. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa. The plant also produces two or three grooved leaves which tend to wither prior to bloom.{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Ronald J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25708726|title=Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary|publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co|year=1994|isbn=0-87842-280-3|edition=rev.|location=Missoula, MT|pages=76|language=en|oclc=25708726|orig-year=1992}} Its native habitats include open, rocky slopes, among brush and pines.{{Cite web|title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin|url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=alac4|access-date=2021-12-11|website=www.wildflower.org}}
The onions were eaten by first peoples in southern British Columbia. They were harvested in either early spring or late fall and usually cooked in pits. Both the bulb and the flowering stalk are edible; however, in the culinary arts, the stalk possesses a more pleasant flavour.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
- [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=12504 Jepson Manual Treatment]
- [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ALAC4 USDA Plants Profile]
- [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101329 Flora of North America]
- {{CalPhotos|Allium|acuminatum}}
{{Allium}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2351769}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allium Acuminatum}}
Category:Flora of the Northwestern United States
Category:Flora of the Southwestern United States
Category:Flora of British Columbia
Category:Plants described in 1838
Category:Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker
Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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