''Allium crispum'' is a species of
wild onion Wild onion can refer to
* any uncultivated species in the genus ''Allium'', especially:
**''Allium bisceptrum''
** ''Allium canadense''
** ''Allium tricoccum''
** ''Allium validum''
** ''Allium vineale''
* ''Asphodelus tenuifolius''
* ''Cyperus bulb ...
known by the common name crinkled onion. It is
endemic to
California, where it grows along the
Central Coast in the
Coast Ranges
The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although the ...
and in the
Santa Monica Mountains, often in clays and
serpentine soil
Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially anti ...
s.
[Flora of North America v 26 p 264, ''Allium crispum''](_blank)
/ref> It is a perennial herb that is typically found in the foothill woodlands and valley grasslands of California.
Description
''Allium crispum'' grows from a bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
one to one and a half centimeters wide and sends up naked green stems topped with inflorescences of many flowers, each on a short pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
. The flowers are magenta in color and have six triangular tepals. The inner three tepals are smaller and crinkled like cloth and may curl under. Anthers
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
and pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
are yellow.
Gallery
Alliaceae Allium crisoum Crinkled Onion.jpg
Allium crispum 1.jpg
Allium crispum 2.jpg
Allium crispum 4.jpg
File:Allumcrispuminsun.jpg
See also
* California montane chaparral and woodlands
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Allium crispum''USDA Plants Profile: ''Allium crispum''''Allium crispum'' - U.C. Photo gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allium Crispum
crispum
Endemic flora of California
Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Onions
Plants described in 1888
Taxa named by Edward Lee Greene