Prairie Wild Onion (Textile Onion)
Family: Liliaceae – Lily Family Perennial herbs from rhizomes, bulbs, or corms; stems annual; monocot Leaves: parallel veined; mainly alternate; simple; narrow and grasslike; leaves up to 9” (22.8 cm) long Flowers: 3 (white or pale pink with purple lines in center) petals; 3 petaloid sepals; 6 stamens; 1 pistil; 1 style; radially symmetrical; perfect; cluster of 5 to 54 flowers; flowers 0.2” to 0.36” (5 to 9 mm) long Pollinators: bees and other insects Fruits: capsule Blooms in Arches National Park: April, May Habitat in Arches National Park: desert shrub and pinyon-juniper communities; often in seleniferous substrates Location seen: Windows, Broken Arch trail Other: The genus name, “Allium”, is Latin for garlic and means "to avoid" referring to the odor and flavor of the edible bulbs. The species name, “textile”, means “textile or fabric” referring to the dark brown, fabric-like fibers that loosely enclose the bulb. Yucca and aloe used to be in this family. The family is extremely complex. Some ornamentals and medicinally useful plants are in this family, but a few species are poisonous. |
Did You Know?
Landscape Arch is the longest Arch in Arches National Park, measuring 306 feet from base to base. In 1991, a massive slab of rock fell from its underside, resulting in an even thinner ribbon of rock.