Allium perdulce, the Plains onion, is a plant species native to the central part of the United States and cultivated as an ornamental elsewhere.[1] It has been found in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and one county in western Iowa (Woodbury County).[2][3]

Plains onion
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Allioideae
Genus: Allium
Species:
A. perdulce
Binomial name
Allium perdulce

The species name, "perdulce", is neo Latin meaning "especially sweet". This is a reference to the scent of the flowers which resembles hyacinths.[4]

Allium perdulceproduces 2-20 bulbs, each up to 3 cm (1.2 inches) in diameter. Flowers are urn-shaped, up to 10 mm (0.4 inches) across; tepals deep rose to purple (except in var. sperryi; see below); pollen yellow.[2][5][6][7]

Two varieties are recognized:[2][8]

  • Allium perdulce var. perdulce
  • Allium perdulce var. sperryi Ownbey[9][10][11]

Var. sperryi is a color variant known only from western Texas in the trans-Pecos region. It has white to pale pink flowers instead of the more widespread deep rose to purple.[2]

Cultivation

edit

The plains onion prefers sandy loam soil. Though tolerant of drought conditions they will make good use of some additional moisture when in cultivation.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Gardening Europa, Allium perdulce". Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  2. ^ a b c d Flora of North America, Allium perdulce
  3. ^ BONAP (Biota of North America Program), 2014 county distribution map, Allium perdulce
  4. ^ a b Barr, Claude A. (1983). Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 20. ISBN 0-8166-1127-0.
  5. ^ Fraser, Samuel Victorian. 1940. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 42: 124–126.
  6. ^ Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains i–vii, 1–1392. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.
  7. ^ Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.
  8. ^ The Plant List
  9. ^ Ownbey, Francis Marion. 1950. Research Studies of the State College of Washington 18(4): 202–203, f. 4.
  10. ^ Traub, Hamilton Paul, & Ownbey, Francis Marion. 1967. Plant Life 23: 110.
  11. ^ photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, isotype of Allium perdulce var. sperryi