Allium burlewii

Burlew's onion

Family: Alliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Burlew's onion is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, southern Coastal Range, and southwestern California in sandy and gravelly soils, including granite and serpentine landscapes at elevations of 1,800 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces white flowers with a pink or dull purple basal tinge, arranged in clusters of 8 to 20 blooms. Growing with a short stem 2 to 8 centimeters tall, it emerges from a small ovoid bulb 15 to 25 millimeters in size. Its single leaf is widely channeled and typically as long as or twice the height of the stem. The plant has distinctive smooth filaments and an ovary with minimal or no central crests.

Habitat: Sandy, gravelly soils, granite, serpentine

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 1800-2800 m

Bioregions: s SNH, Teh, SCoR, SW.

California counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, San Benito, Tulare, Madera, Alpine, Fresno, Inyo, Monterey, Orange

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.