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Wild Onion, Meadow Garlic

Allium canadense

Description:

Meadow garlic or wild garlic’s sparse cluster of grass-like leaves and its 8-12 in. flowering stalk grow from a bulb. From between narrow, grass-like leaves, which originate near its base, rises a stemtopped by a dome-like cluster of star-shaped, pink or whitish flowers; plant has strong, onion-like odor.

Habitat:

Low-lying section of yard near a stream.

Notes:

Wild onions/garlic, set bulblets on top If a plant looks like an onion and smells like an onion you can eat it. If a plant looks like a garlic and smells like a garlic you can eat it. If you do not smell a garlic or an onion odor but you have the right look beware you might have a similar-looking toxic plant. All parts of this particular Wild Onion/Garlic are edible, the underground bulbs, the long, thin leaves, the blossoms, and the bulblets on top. The bulblets are small cloves the plant sets where it blossoms. Harvesting them is a little easier than digging for bulbs but those are easy to find also. They’re usually four to six inches underground. The bulblets are on the tippy top of the plant. It’s called both names because while it is a wild onion it has a very strong garlic aroma. Onions and garlic belong to the Lily family. The most common wild one is the Allium canadense. It has flattened leaves and hollow stems. On top there can be bulblets with pinkish white flowers or bulblets with sprouted green tails. When it sets underground bulbs they will be no bigger than pearl onions.

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joanbstanley
Spotted by
joanbstanley

Pflugerville, Texas, USA

Spotted on Apr 12, 2015
Submitted on Jun 16, 2015

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Reference

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