Allium shevockii

Spanish needle onion, Spanish Needle onion, Spanish Needle onion

Family: Alliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Spanish needle onion is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada Mountains and Tehachapi region at Horse Canyon and Spanish Needle Peak in Kern County, growing on metamorphic outcrops and talus at elevations of 2,000 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces maroon-tipped white or greenish flowers in clusters of 12 to 30 blooms, with distinctive perianth parts that curl and reflect at the tips. Growing 10 to 20 centimeters tall with a single cylindric leaf roughly twice the stem's length, it develops a unique spherical bulb with 1 to 2 large stalked bulblets near the base. Its bulb forms thread-like rhizomes with a terminal bulb, featuring light yellow inner bulb coats that turn reddish with age. The plant's flowers are notable for their 6 obvious ovary crests with irregular, often notched margins.

Habitat: Metamorphic outcrops, talus

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 2000-2500 m

Bioregions: s SNH (Spanish Needle Peak, ne Kern Co.), Teh (Horse Canyon).

California counties: Kern

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