Allium rhizomatum facts for kids

Allium rhizomatum is a type of plant known as a wild onion. People sometimes call it the spreading wild onion or red flower onion. This plant is native to parts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

About the Spreading Wild Onion

The spreading wild onion is a unique plant. It grows in dry, grassy areas. You can find it at high places, usually between 1,200 and 2,200 meters above sea level.

Where It Grows

This wild onion is found in several places. In the United States, it grows in southern Arizona (Cochise and Santa Cruz Counties). It's also in southern New Mexico (Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, Socorro, Sierra, and Eddy Counties). You can also spot it in western Texas (Brewster and Jeff Davis Counties). Across the border, it lives in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico.

What It Looks Like

Allium rhizomatum has a special way of growing. It spreads using underground stems called rhizomes. Think of them like underground runners. New onion bulbs can form up to 3 centimeters away from the main plant.

The bulbs themselves are long and narrow. They can be up to 3 centimeters long. But they are usually less than 1 centimeter wide.

Its flowers are small, about 10 millimeters across. The petals, called tepals, are white. They have cool red lines running down their centers. These flowers do not have special glands. The part of the flower that holds seeds, called the ovary, is long and thin. It doesn't have a crest. The parts that make pollen, called anthers, can be yellow or pink. The pollen itself is either yellow or white.

How It's Different from Similar Plants

Some scientists once thought A. rhizomatum was the same as another onion, A. glandulosum. That plant grows in central and southern Mexico. However, there are clear differences. A. glandulosum has deep red flowers. Its ovary is round, not long. Also, its sepals (leaf-like parts protecting the flower) have glands. These differences show they are separate species.