Allium peninsulare var. peninsulare

Mexicali onion

Family: Alliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Mexicali onion is a California native perennial found in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills, Tehachapi, Sacramento Valley, and southwestern California in dry slopes and flats at elevations below 1,100 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces delicate white flowers with a distinctive 3-lobed stigma, approximately 10 to 15 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems reaching up to 30 to 45 centimeters tall, it emerges from underground bulbs with straight, grass-like leaves. Its linear leaves are smooth and upright, emerging directly from the base of the plant. The inflorescence develops pedicels 10 to 40 millimeters long, creating a delicate cluster of white blossoms characteristic of the onion genus.

Habitat: Common. Dry slopes, flats

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: < 1100 m

Bioregions: SNF, Teh, ScV, SW

California counties: San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Riverside, El Dorado, Mariposa, Los Angeles, Butte, Santa Barbara, Kern, San Benito, Ventura, Tuolumne, Nevada, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Stanislaus, Tulare, Siskiyou, Orange, Monterey, Calaveras, Fresno, Merced, Placer, Shasta, Sonoma, Yuba, Tehama, Plumas, Contra Costa

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