''Allium amplectens'', the narrowleaf onion, is a species of flowering plant. It is a

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

native to the west coast of the United States, in Oregon, Washington State and California, also British Columbia in Canada. It grows in woods and especially in clay and serpentine soils.Flora of North America v 26 p 262
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Description

Growing to tall and broad, this herbaceous

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

grows from a pinkish-brown bulb and sends up a naked green stem topped with an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

wrapped in bright pink or magenta bracts. These open to produce between 10 and 50 shiny white or pale pink flowers, each under a centimeter wide. The six stout stamens and the ovary are white or tinted pink or lavender.Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley. Cultivars include 'Graceful'.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileUC Photos gallery
Allium amplectens

amplectens Onions Flora of California Flora of British Columbia Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Plants described in 1857 Taxa named by John Torrey Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Allium-stub