– Description:
– Allium canadense has an edible bulb covered with a dense skin of brown fibers.
– Crow garlic (Allium vineale) has a strong garlic taste.
– The plant features narrow, grass-like leaves originating near the base of the stem.
– Flowers are dome-like clusters of star-shaped, pink or white flowers.
– Flowers are hermaphroditic and pollinated by American bees and other insects.
– Varieties:
– A. canadense var. canadense: Bulblet-producing form.
– A. canadense var. ecristatum Ownbey: Tepals deep pink, thick; coastal plain of Texas.
– A. canadense var. fraseri Ownbey: Flowers white; Great Plains from Texas to Kansas.
– A. canadense var. hyacinthoides (Bush) Ownbey: Tepals pink, thin, fragrant flowers; northern Texas and southern Oklahoma.
– A. canadense var. lavandulare (Bates) Ownbey & Aase: Flowers lavender, not fragrant; northern Arkansas to South Dakota.
– Uses:
– Cultivated as a vegetable in home gardens in Cuba.
– Native Americans and European settlers used it as food.
– Cherokee Nation and Chickasaw Nation pick and cook wild onions.
– Used for protection from insect, lizard, scorpion, and tarantula bites.
– Edible raw or cooked in recipes.
– Notes:
– In Canadian French, known as ail du Canada and oignons des prairies.
– In Cuban Spanish, mainly known as cebolla silvestre.
– References:
– Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada.
– NatureServe Explorer 2.0.
– Linnaeus, Carl (1753): Species Plantarum.
– Allium canadense L. Tropicos.
– Allium canadense L. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.