LILIACEAE 



LILY FAMILY 



WILD ONION. NODDING ONION 



Allium cerniiiim Roth 



The Wild Onion grows on prairies, banks and hillsides 

 from New York to British Columbia and south to West Virginia, 

 Kentucky and New Mexico. It usually has a cluster of i -2-inch 

 bulbs on a short underground stem. 



The flower stalk is i-2 feet high and the leaves 

 somewhat shorter. The many-flowered umbel is 

 nodding, hence the name Nodding Onion. Below 

 the umbel are i short bracts which soon drop oflF. 



The bell-shaped, white or rose flowers of this 

 species bloom in July or August. 

 The stamens, longer than the peri- 

 anth, mature and discharge their 

 pollen one at a time. The stigmas do 

 not open until all 6 anthers have 

 discharged their pollen, and so 

 assure cross-pollination. The capsule 

 is 3-lobed and 6-seeded. 



The Wild Leek, Allium tricoccum 

 Ait., grows in rich woodland soil. It 

 has a cluster of bulbs i-2 inches high, 

 seated on a short underground stem. 

 The leaves appear very early in spring 

 but wither before flowering time in June and July. 

 The flower stalk is 4-5 inches tall and the umbel 

 is not nodding. There are usually 1 fairly large 

 bracts which at first enclose the flowers but later 

 drop ofi^. The pedicels become rigid and more 

 than one-half inch long. The flowers are white 

 and the stamens are not longer than the perianth. 

 The deeply 3-lobed capsule is dehiscent but the 

 round and shining black seeds remain on the 

 plant for some time. 



The Prairie Onion, Alliu?n stellatum Ker, is a rare species in Illi- 

 nois and more abundant westward to Missouri, Kansas and Minne- 

 sota. Here it occurs on sandy or gravelly prairies of the western 

 border counties. The numerous leaves are long, very slender and 

 flat, and rise from a small bulb covered with a firm, thick and smooth 

 membrane. The erect umbel, which easily distinguishes this species 

 from its nearest relative, the Nodding Onion, is at the top of a naked 

 stem or scape and bears many small pink fiowers. The Onion odor 

 is verv mild. 



51 



