''Allium validum'' is a species of flowering plant commonly called swamp onion, wild onion, Pacific onion, or Pacific mountain onion. It is native to the Cascade Range, to the Sierra Nevada, the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

, and other high-elevation regions in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

and

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, ...

. It is a perennial herb and grows in swampy meadows at medium and high elevations.

Taxonomy and morphology

The ''Allium validum'' bulb is three to five centimeters long, ovoid and clustered on the short end. The outer coat of the stout rhizome is brown or gray in color, fibrous, and vertically lined. The stem is 50 to 100 centimeters long and angled. There are three to six leaves more or less equal to the stem and the leaves are flat or more or less keeled. There are 15 to 40

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s with

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

being seven to twelve millimeters in length. The flower itself is six to ten millimeters, its

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla ( petals) or tepals when ...

parts are more or less erect, narrowly

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, and entire with a rose to white color. The

stamens 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 filame ...

are longer than the

tepals A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

, and there is no ovary crest.

Ecology

This is a common plant in California often found in wet meadows at elevations of . ''A. validum'' prefers sandy and loamy soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant will grow in acid, basic, or alkaline soils, but only in areas with plenty of moisture and sun.

Ethnobotany

The bulb ''A. validum'' can be used as a flavoring for soups and stews although it is somewhat fibrous. The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked and the flowers can be used as garnish on salads.

Plant toxin insecticide

It can also be used as a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

repellent. The whole plant is said to repel insects and

moles Moles can refer to: * Moles de Xert, a mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain * The Moles (Australian band) *The Moles, alter ego of Scottish band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound People *Abraham Moles, French engin ...

References

Sources

*California plants for education, research and conservation. eb application 2006. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database non-profit organization Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20181117025044/http://calflora.org/. (Accessed: Feb 24, 2006) *Jepson Flora Project: Jepson Interchange. Copyright © 1993 by the Regents of the University of California eb applicationTreatment from the Jepson Manual. Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20100307223540/http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/ (Accessed: Feb 24, 2006) *Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright © 1997–2000. eb application*WEB search engine by Rich Morris. Plants for a Future, Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK. Website: www.pfaf.org (Accessed: Feb 24, 2006) *USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA. (Accessed: Feb 24, 2006)

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Allium validum'' (Pacific onion) Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Allium validum''U.C. CalPhotos gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allium validum validum Onions Flora of British Columbia Flora of California Flora of Idaho Flora of Nevada Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1871 Taxa named by Sereno Watson Plants used in Native American cuisine Plant toxin insecticides Insect repellents Garden plants of North America