Species: Allium cernuum Roth

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Allium cernuum Roth

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Liliaceae

Genus:

Allium

Species Synonyms:

none

Common Names:

nodding onion

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

British Columbia –Alberta – west-central and southwestern Saskatchewan, southern Ontario

Saskatchewan:

west-central and southwestern Saskatchewan; Meadow Lake – Alcott Creek, Cypress Hills

Ecoregion:

Cypress Upland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

fescue grassland

Associated Species:

alpine sweetvetch, blue flax, broomweed, cutleaf anemone, death camas, gentian, tufted fleabane

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Vulnerable

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S1S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Nodding onion is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. It occurs in two to three general regions of the province, but most local populations are small. No immediate threats are known for this species.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

10 – 70 cm

Roots:

bulbs 2 – 5; outer bulb coat enclosing one or more bulbs, greyish or brownish, membranous, minutely striped, fibres few; inner bulb coats white to pink or reddish; rhizomes short, 1 – 3 cm long

Stems:

persistent, solitary, occasionally 2 or more, nodding, solid, round in cross section

Leaves:

3 – 5, sheathing, sheaths not extending much above soil level, blades 10 – 25 cm long, 1 – 3 mm wide, solid, flat or channelled, bluish-green

Inflorescence:

umbrella-like, nodding, loose, 8 – 35-flowered; bracts 2, 3-veined, lance-shaped; flower stalks 6 – 25 mm long, stouter in fruit

Flowers:

tepals erect, 4 – 6 mm long, bell-shaped, elliptic, withering in fruit, pink or white; stamens 6, extending past tepals, anthers yellow; ovary conspicuously crested with 6 processes; stigma head-like

Fruits:

capsule; seeds minutely roughened

ALLIUM KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Flowers sterile, some or all replaced by small bulbs	A. geyeri
1 Flowers fertile, small bulbs usually absent	2

2 Leaves hollow and round in cross section; stalks shorter than flowers; ovary crestless	3
2 Leaves flat or channelled, not hollow; stalks equal to or longer than flowers; ovary crested with 6 flattened or knob-like processes	4

3 Leaves slender, equal to or longer than stem; bulbs crowded	A. schoenoprasum var. schoenoprasum
3 Leaves coarse, shorter than stem; bulbs few	A. schoenoprasum var. sibiricum

4 Outer bulb coats fibrous, netted; bulb usually solitary	5
4 Outer bulb coats membranous or only slight fibrous; bulbs one or more	6

5 Stems to 60 cm tall; leaves 3 or more per stem; tepals to 1 cm long, usually pink	A. geyeri
5 Stems to 30 cm tall; leaves usually 2 per stem; tepals < 7 mm long, usually white	A. textile

6 Flowers bell-shaped, tepals erect, flower stalks to 3 cm long; stem nodding	A. cernuum
6 Flowers star-shaped, tepals spreading, flower stalks to 1.5 cm long; stem erect	A. stellatum