Allium sharsmithiae, called the Mount Hamilton onion or Helen Sharsmith's onion, is a rare species of wild onion endemic to a small region in California. It is found on serpentine soils in the vicinity of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range south of San Francisco Bay in Santa Clara, Alameda and Stanislaus Counties.[2][3][4]
| Allium sharsmithiae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Allioideae |
| Genus: | Allium |
| Species: | A. sharsmithiae
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| Binomial name | |
| Allium sharsmithiae (Ownbey & Aase ex Traub) McNeal
| |
| SynonymsTropicos, Allium fimbriatum var. sharsmithiae Ownbey & Aase ex Traub | |
| |
Description
editAllium sharsmithiae produces round to egg-shaped bulbs up to 2 cm in diameter. Flowering stalk is round in cross section, not hollow, up to 20 cm tall. Flowers are urn-shaped, up to 2 cm in diameter; tepals deep reddish-purple; anthers and pollen yellow.[2][5][6][7]
References
edit- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
- ^ a b Flora of North America v 26 p 252, Allium sharsmithiae
- ^ BONAP (Biota of North America Project) 2013 county distribution map, Allium sharsmithiae
- ^ Calflora taxon report 233, Allium sharsmithiae (Traub) D. McNeal Sharsmith's onion
- ^ Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- ^ McNeal, D. W. 1992. A revision of the Allium fimbriatum (Alliaceae) complex. Aliso 13(3):411–426.
- ^ Traub, Hamilton Paul. 1972. Plant Life 28: 64.
External links
edit- Pacific Bulb Society, American Alliums Seven several color photos of several species including Allium sharsmithiae
- Calphotos, Allium sharsmithiae several color photos of Allium sharsmithiae