Allium tolmiei var. persimile
An Idaho-endemic, USFWS-tracked bulbous onion with scapes 10–40 cm tall, two long leaves, a white-to-pink umbel of 10–50 flowers blooming Apr–Jul, and stamens longer than the sepals, confined to Idaho's Seven Devils Mountains and threatened by road construction and cattle grazing.
Common Names
Sevendevils Onion, Tolmie's Onion, Seven Devil's Onion
Summary
Sevendevils onion is a Tolmie's onion subspecies native to the inland West (Idaho, eastern/central Oregon, southeastern Washington, northwestern Nevada, northeastern California) growing in mountains and scrublands at 1,300–9,200 ft. It is a perennial herb with scapes 10–20 cm tall, two flat, thick leaves per scape, and an umbel of 10–50 pink flowers whose stamens are about equal in length to the petals, with overall height about 10–40 cm and pink blooms that lighten as they mature.
Habitat includes seasonally wet soils that dry in summer within sagebrush communities; for cultivation, it propagates by bulb or seed, tolerates drought and a broad pH range (6.0–8.0); seed germination may require a chilling period, and autumn planting before ground freezes is recommended.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
4-16 inches
Spread
Data not provided.
Soil Type
Equal parts loam, peat, and sand, with textures ranging from coarse to fine.
Soil Drainage
Seasonally wet soils that dry out in summer.
Soil pH
6.0-8.0
Bloom Color
Pink (flowers lighten as they mature)
Bloom Time
Spring to Summer
Foliage Color
Green
Fall Foliage Color
Green
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Rapid
Seasons of Interest
Spring
Propagation Methods
Seeds, Bulbs
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Variety
- Author
- Ownbey
- Publication
- Res. Stud. State Coll. Wash. 18: 29 (1950)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Asparagales
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Genus
- Allium
- Species
- Allium tolmiei