Description

California is home to about 75 taxa (species, subspecies and varieties) of wild onions. These are distributed across many plant communities, but generally grow in open, mountainous settings. Like culinary onions (also in the Allium genus), they grow from an underground bulb as a fountain of narrow, grass-like leaves followed by upright inflorescences topped with umbels of small bright flowers. The narrow leaved onion is widespread in California, including Santa Clara County. The flowers range from white to light pink. After the spring bloom the plant will begin to go dormant as the seed develop. By summer, all above-ground growth has disappeared. The plant should not be watered during dormancy. Growth will begin with the onset of the cool, soaking winter rains. A bulb will divide when it is large enough, eventually forming a patch. The bulbs can be dug and re-planted early in the fall.