Allium tuolumnense
Encyclopedia
Allium tuolumnense is a rare species of wild onion
known by the common name Rawhide Hill onion. It is endemic to Tuolumne County, California
, where it is known only from a small section of the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is a plant of serpentine soil
s. This onion grows from a reddish-brown bulb one to two centimeters long, producing a slender erect stem up to 50 centimeters tall and usually a single leaf approximately the same length. The stem is topped with a hemispheric inflorescence
holding 20 to 60 flowers, each on a pedicel
one or two centimeters long. Each flower is just under a centimeter wide when fully open, with six white or pink oval-shaped tepal
s. There are six stamen
s and the ovary
has six pointed crests.
Allium
Allium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
known by the common name Rawhide Hill onion. It is endemic to Tuolumne County, California
Tuolumne County, California
Tuolumne County is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. The northern half of Yosemite National Park is located in the eastern part of the county. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,365, up from 54,501 at the 2000 census...
, where it is known only from a small section of the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is a plant of serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s. This onion grows from a reddish-brown bulb one to two centimeters long, producing a slender erect stem up to 50 centimeters tall and usually a single leaf approximately the same length. The stem is topped with a hemispheric inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
holding 20 to 60 flowers, each on a pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
one or two centimeters long. Each flower is just under a centimeter wide when fully open, with six white or pink oval-shaped tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s. There are six stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and the ovary
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
has six pointed crests.