Beegum onion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Beegum onion |
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Allium hoffmanii is a type of wild onion often called the beegum onion. This plant naturally grows in northern California. You can find it in the special serpentine soils of mountain ranges in Siskiyou, Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta, and Tehama Counties.
What is the Beegum Onion?
The beegum onion is a small plant. It grows a short stem that can reach about 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) tall. This stem comes from a brown or reddish bulb. The bulb is like a small underground storage part, usually one or two centimeters long.
Leaves and Flowers
Most beegum onions have just one leaf. This leaf can sometimes be longer than the stem itself. The plant's flowers grow in a cluster called an inflorescence. This cluster can hold up to 40 flowers!
Each flower is about one centimeter long. They are usually pink or purple in color. You might also see greenish lines, or "veining," on the flowers. Inside the flower, the stamens stick out. Stamens are the parts that produce pollen. The bases of these stamens are a bit bumpy. At their tips, they have purple parts called anthers. Anthers are where the pollen is held.
