Allium praecox

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamilia: Allioideae
Tribus: Allieae
Genus: Allium
Subgenus: A. subg. Amerallium
Sectio: A. sect. Lophioprason
Subsectio: A. subsect. Acuminata
Species: Allium praecox
Name

Allium praecox Brandegee, 1906
Synonyms

Allium hyalinum var. praecox (Brandegee) Jeps.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Regional: Southwestern USA
California;
Regional: Mexico
Mexico Northwest

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Brandegee, T.S., Zoë 5:228. 1906

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Allium praecox in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Jul. 24. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2018. Allium praecox. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Jul. 24. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Allium praecox. Published online. Accessed: Jul. 24 2018.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Allium praecox in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
English: early onion

Allium praecox is a species of wild onion known by the common name early onion.
Distribution

It is native to the hills and mountains of southern California and Baja California, where it grows in shady areas in clay soils at elevations up to 800 m.

The species has been reported from Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Orange and San Diego Counties. This includes some populations on the Channel Islands.[1][2]
Description

Allium praecox grows from a brownish or grayish bulb between one and two centimeters long. The scape is round in cross-section, up to 60 cm long. A single plant generally has two or three long, keeled leaves about the same length as the scape or sometimes a little longer.

The umble consistes up to 40 flowers, each on a long pedicel up to 4 cm long, the flowers up to 15 mm across. The tepals are pink with darker purple veins. Anthers are purple or yellow; pollen yellow.[1][3][4][5]
References .

Flora of North America v 26 p 263 Allium praecox
USDA Plants Profile
Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley. Allium praecox
Allium praecox Photo gallery
Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert. 2 vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford.