''Allium acuminatum'', also known as the tapertip onion or Hooker's onion, is a species in the genus ''

Allium ''Allium'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name ''Allium'' is the Latin word for garlic,Gledhill, D ...

'' native to North America.

Distribution

It is found the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

and Canada. It has been reported from every state west of the Rocky Mountains, plus British Columbia.

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) 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. The plant also produces two or three grooved leaves which tend to wither prior to bloom. Its native habitats include open, rocky slopes, among brush and pines. The onions were eaten by

first peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

in southern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. 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

External links

*
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North America
* acuminatum Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of British Columbia Flora of California Onions Plants described in 1838 Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Allium-stub