Spanish Needle Onion

Description

Allium shevockii is a rare species of wild onion known by the common name Spanish Needle onion. It is found only in a limited area in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. Allium shevockii produces a bulb one to one and a half centimeters wide which may have one or two large daughter bulblets. Atop the stipe is an umbel of up to 30 flowers, each just over a centimeter wide. The six shiny tepals are maroon to rich pink in color and may be white near the bases. In a manner unique among the onions, the tepals are reflexed, curling outward from the flower center.