Taxonomy
Family: Liliaceae
Habitat
Woodlands, disturbed prairies, floodplains.
Associates
Woody associate on floodplains include Fraxinus americana, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Prunus serotina, Prunus virginiana, Sambucus canadensis, Ulmus americana.
Distribution
All states east of the Rockies
Morphology
Leaves less than 8mm wide, present at flowering time. Peduncles all erect, umbels open, with pedicels all or nearly all exceeding the flowers in length. Sepals and petals as long as or longer than the stamens. Flowers mostly light pink to whitish, rarely maturing capsules. Stems soft, noticeably hollow, tube-like.
Notes
Flowers April to July
Wetland Indicator: Facultative Upland
The city of Chicago may be named after this plant or another odiferous member of this genus. Can be used the same as cultivated onions.
References
Peterson, L. A. 1977. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America.
Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, NY
Swink, F. and G.
Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
USDA, NRCS. 2002.
The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA
© Michael Hough 2004 |