Allium lacunosum var. kernense

Kern onion

Family: Alliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Kern onion is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi, and western Mojave Desert regions on open sandy slopes at elevations of 700 to 1,300 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces flowers in dense clusters with white to pink blossoms approximately 5 to 7 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems up to 30 centimeters tall, it forms compact clusters with two distinctive bracts subtending the floral head. Its narrow, linear leaves emerge from a small underground bulb, typical of onion species. The inflorescence contains 10 to 45 individual flowers arranged in a tight, spherical cluster with pedicels 10 to 15 millimeters long.

Habitat: Uncommon. Open sandy slopes

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 700-1300 m

Bioregions: s SNF, Teh, w DMoj.

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