''Allium canadense'', the Canada onion, Canadian garlic, wild garlic, meadow garlic and wild onion is a perennial plant native to eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

from Texas to Florida to New Brunswick to Montana. The species is also cultivated in other regions as an ornamental and as a garden culinary

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

. The plant is also reportedly naturalized in Cuba.

Description

''Allium canadense'' has an edible bulb covered with a dense skin of brown

fibers Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

. The plant also has strong onion odor and taste. Crow garlic ('' Allium vineale'') is similar, but it has a strong garlic taste. The narrow, grass-like

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

originate near the base of the stem, which is topped by a dome-like cluster of star-shaped, pink or white flowers. These flowers may be partially or entirely replaced by

bulblet In botany, a bulb is structurally a short Plant stem, stem with fleshy leaf, 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 st ...

s. When present, the flowers are hermaphroditic (both male and female organs) and are pollinated by American

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s (not honeybees) and other insects. It typically flowers in the spring and early summer, from May to June.

Varieties

The bulblet-producing form is classified as ''A. canadense'' var. ''canadense''. It was once thought that the tree onion could be related to this plant, but it is now known that the cultivated tree onion is a hybrid between the common onion (''A. cepa'') and Welsh onion (''A. fistulosum''), classified as ''A.'' × ''proliferum''. Five varieties of the species are widely recognized: *''Allium canadense'' var. ''canadense'' - most pedicels replaced by bulbils, rarely producing fruits or seeds; most of the range of the species. *''Allium canadense'' var. ''ecristatum'' Ownbey tepals deep pink and rather thick; coastal plain of Texas. *''Allium canadense'' var. ''fraseri'' Ownbey - flowers white;

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

from Texas to Kansas. *''Allium canadense'' var. ''hyacinthoides'' (Bush) Ownbey - tepals pink, thin, flowers fragrant; northern Texas and southern

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. *''Allium canadense'' var. ''lavandulare'' (Bates) Ownbey & Aase - flowers lavender, not fragrant; northern Arkansas to South Dakota. *''Allium canadense'' var. ''mobilense'' (Regel) Ownbey - flowers

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...

, pedicels thread-like; southeastern US.

Uses

The Canada onion is cultivated as a vegetable in home gardens in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, scattered locally in the south to western parts of the island. It was formerly collected from the wild to be eaten by Native Americans and by European settlers. People in the Cherokee Nation continue the tradition of picking and cooking wild onions in early spring. Various Native American tribes also used the plant for other purposes: for example, rubbing the plant on the body for protection from insect, lizard, scorpion, and tarantula bites. The whole plant can be eaten raw, with the tougher outer layers removed. It can also be cooked and included in any recipe calling for onions. The species has an onion odor; if this is lacking, it may be that the poisonous deathcamas has been collected instead of ''A. canadense''. This plant can cause

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

in young children who ingest parts of this plant. Chronic ingestion of the bulbs reduces

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

uptake by the

thyroid gland The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobe (anatomy), lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of Connective tissue, tissue cal ...

, which can lead to problems. No specific treatment is suggested other than to prevent dehydration. Livestock have also been poisoned by ingesting wild onions, and some have died. Horses have developed hemolytic anemia from ingesting wild onion leaves.

Description

Varieties

Uses

Notes

References

Further reading