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:

Anemone multifida, Erigeron caespitosus, Gentiana amarella, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Hedysarum americanum, Linum lewisii, Zigadenus elegans

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Vulnerable

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S1S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Allium cernuum 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 striate, 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, terete

Leaves:

3 – 5, sheathing, sheaths not extending much above soil level, blade 10 – 25 cm long, 1 – 3 mm wide, solid, flat or channelled, glaucous

Inflorescence:

umbel nodding, loose, 8 – 35-flowered; spathe bracts 2, 3-veined, lanceolate; pedicels 6 – 25 mm long, stouter in fruit

Flowers:

tepals erect, 4 – 6 mm long, campanulate, elliptic, withering in fruit, pink or white; stamens 6, exserted, anthers yellow; ovary conspicuously crested with 6 processes; stigma capitate

Fruits:

capsule; seeds minutely roughened

ALLIUM KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

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

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

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

4 Outer bulb coats fibrous, reticulate; 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 scape; perianth to 1 cm long, usually pink	A. geyeri
5 Stems to 30 cm tall; leaves usually 2 per scape; perianth < 7 mm long, usually white	A. textile

6 Flowers campanulate, tepals erect, pedicels to 3 cm long; scape nodding	A. cernuum
6 Flowers stellate, tepals spreading, pedicels to 1.5 cm long; scape erect	A. stellatum