Allium marvinii

Yucaipa onion, Yucaipa onion, Yucaipa onion

Family: Alliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Yucaipa onion is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in southern California coastal, San Bernardino Mountains, and Peninsular Ranges bioregions on dry slopes and ridges at elevations of 300 to 1,250 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces white flowers with rose-colored midveins, 6 to 8 millimeters long, arranged in clusters of 10 to 30 blooms. Growing with stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall, it develops clustered bulbs 2 to 3 centimeters long with reddish-brown outer coats and white, pink, or deep red inner layers. Its 4 to 6 leaves are flat and shorter than the stem, with distinctive triangular ovary crests featuring papillate margins. The plant forms small clusters on short rhizomes with finely striate bulb surfaces.

Habitat: dry slopes, ridges

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: 300-1250 m

Bioregions: SCo, SnBr, PR.

California counties: Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego

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