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Largeflower Onion

Allium macropetalum

Largeflower onion is a small desert bulb that spends most of the year invisible underground, sending up a few grass-like leaves and a stalk of star-shaped pink flowers for a few weeks after the spring rains before vanishing again by early summer. The flowers are large for the size of the plant, which is what the name records, and each petal carries a darker midvein. It grows on dry mesas, gravelly flats and desert grassland across the Southwest, entirely dependent on winter and spring moisture. The bulbs are edible raw or cooked and can be dried for winter; they were often singed first to soften the strong flavor, and the leaves and flowers are eaten as well. Its early bloom makes it useful to bees emerging in a season when the desert has little else open. As with every onion, it is toxic to dogs.

Family

Amaryllidaceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

perennial

Height

0.5–1 ft

Spacing

0.3–0.6 ft apart

Light

sun

Soil moisture

dry

Soil pH

neutral, alkaline

Bloom

March, April

Bloom colors

pink

Wildlife value

pollinators, butterflies

Landscape uses

border, container

Native states

AZ, CO, NM, TX, UT