Prairie Wild Onion (Textile Onion)

Allium textile

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.