52 LILY FAMILY 



1. A. validum Wats. Swamp Onion. Tall comparatively 

 stout plant, 1 to 3 ft. high, the 2-edged stem and the leaves 

 from an oblong bulb or a creeping rootstock. Leaves 4 to 6, 

 often l /$ in. wide. Flowers many, pink, in a dense terminal 

 head-like cluster subtended by 2 to 4 thin bracts united at 

 base and longer than the pedicels. 



This onion is common in moist places of considerable alti- 

 tude, the plants often growing in small beds. Although its 

 bulbs are somewhat fibrous they are very acceptable as a 

 flavoring ingredient for soups and stews in a region where 

 vegetables are difficult to procure. 



2. A. sanbornii Wood. Stem terete, a foot or two high, 

 from a white ovate bulb. Leaves 2 or more, not exceeding 

 the stem. Bracts 4; pedicels % to */2 in. long. Flowers light 

 rose-color; the ovate-lanceolate segments about % in. long, 

 shorter than the stamens and style. — A rare species, reported 

 from the Yosemite. 



3. A. campanulatum Wats. Stem terete, 2 to 16 in. high, 

 from an ovate bulb. Leaves 2 or 4, usually longer than the 

 stem. Bracts 2, acuminate, shorter than the pedicels, these 

 14 to a full inch long. Flowers light rose-color, the lanceo- 

 late segments about J4 i n - l° n g> exceeding the stamens and 

 style. — In open, coniferous forests. A low form with short 

 pedicels and small flowers has been segregated as A. bid- 

 welliae Wats. 



4. A. tribracteatum Torr. Bulb-coats with transverse re- 

 ticulation. Leaves usually 2, much longer than the stem, 

 which is only J4 to 2 in. long. Bracts 3, acuminate. Flowers 

 in a loose head, pale pink, with dark midveins, the narrow 

 acute segments ^ m - long- Capsule not crested. — Tuolumne 

 Meadows and above. 



5. A. parvum Kell. Bulb-coats without reticulation. Leaves 

 1 or 2, exceeding the very short stem. Bracts mostly 2. 

 Flowers in a compact head, pink, with broad dark midveins, 

 the segments rather obtuse. Capsule not crested. — Near tim- 

 ber-line on Mt. Lyell. A. obtusum Lemmon, is a related form 

 with solitary leaf, 3 bracts, and crested capsules. A. atnbiguum 

 Jones, perhaps even closer to A. parvum, is distinguished by 

 its bulb-coats, which are marked off into 6-sided or diamond- 

 shaped figures. Neither of these is definitely known from our 

 district. 



7. BRODIAEA. Brodiaea. 

 Flowering stem erect or twining, with few grass-like leaves 



