''Allium atrorubens'' is a species of

wild onion Wild onion can refer to * any uncultivated species in the genus ''Allium'', especially: **''Allium bisceptrum'' ** ''Allium canadense'' ** ''Allium tricoccum'' ** ''Allium validum'' ** ''Allium vineale'' * ''Asphodelus tenuifolius'' * ''Cyperus bulb ...

known by the common name dark red onion. This plant is native to the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

where it grows in the sandy soils of the Mojave Desert, the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

and higher-elevation deserts in Nevada, eastern California ( San Bernardino, Kern,

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

Inyo Inyo may refer to: Places California * Inyo County, California * Inyo National Forest, USA * The Inyo Mountains * The Mono–Inyo Craters Other uses * Japanese for yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese p ...

and

Lassen Lassen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Lars" (equivalent of Laurentius), and thus a parallel form of the more common surname Larsen. Notable people with the surname include: * Anders Lassen (1920–1945), a Danish reci ...

Counties) southwestern Utah ( Kane,

Millard Millard may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places in the United States * Millard, Missouri, a village * Millard, Omaha, Nebraska, a former suburb and present-day neighborhood of Omaha * Millard Creek, Pennsylvania * Millard County, Utah * Millard, Virginia, an ...

and Beaver Counties), northwestern Arizona ( Mohave and Coconino Counties). ''Allium atrorubens'' grows from a reddish-brown

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

across. The stem is short and is surrounded by few coiled tubular leaves. Atop the stem is an inflorescence of up to 50 flowers. Each flower has six shiny,

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

, sharply triangular tepals with dark midveins. The tepals are usually magenta to maroon but are lighter pink or white occasionally. Each flower is about wide.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
* atrorubens Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Onions Flora of Arizona Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of Utah Taxa named by Sereno Watson Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Allium-stub