Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Taper-tip Onion
Allium acuminatum
Onion family (Amaryllidaceae)

Purple Onion (Allium acuminatum) is common in the Pinyon-Juniper forests and nearby foothills . Its bright magenta flowers are very conspicuous at the end of thin, leafless stalks, especially when the plant grows, as it often does, in masses of thousands. The long, narrow with a fragrance of onions helps you identify this plant. Many wild animals eat the and the onion-flavored leaves of this and other Alliums . "" is Latin for "pointed" and refers to the tapering point of each petal.


©2009 Walter Siegmund

Description

with odor of onions, from about 1/2" thick, buried 1 to 4". Leaves 2-4, , shorter than the flower stem (), typically with sheathing purple bases. from 4-12" tall. Flower have 15-38 flowers. pink purple, rarely white. . is a .

Field Marks

Numerous pink purple flowers atop a leafless flower stem with 2-4 long, narrow, arching .

© Al Schneider

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

An umbel is a collection of flowers on short stalks which spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The arrangement can vary from being flat-topped to almost spherical.

perianth -- the non-reproductive part of the flower such as petals and sepals.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

scape -- a long, leafless flower stalk coming directly from a root. The tulip has a scape.

included -- Enclosed and not protruding. For example, stamens within the corolla.

linear -- Long and very narrow like a blade of grass.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

acuminate - leaf that tapers to a long point in a concave manner.

A bulb is an underground stem, the main body of which consists of thickened scales, which are in reality leaves or leaf bases, as in the onion.

meadow -- Large grass and wildflower filled area with few, if any, trees.