Inflorescence - Terminal umbel of zero to many flowers. Sometimes the flowers replaced with reddish bulblets. Sometimes inflorescence a combination of bulblets and flowers, or all flowers. Bulblets sessile. Flowers with pedicels to +4cm long, glabrous, erect. Pedicels much longer than the flowers.

Flowers - Tepals 6, pink to white, glabrous, oblong-lanceolate, to +/-8mm long, +/-3mm broad. Stamens 6, erect. Filaments pinkish, glabrous, expanded at the base, adnate to the base of the tepals, +/-5mm long. Ovary subglobose, glabrous, 3-locular. Style glabrous, +/-5mm long, pinkish. Ovules 3-4 per locule.

Habitat - Glades, bluffs, open woods, prairies, disturbed sites.

Origin - Native to U.S.

Other info. - This showy plant can be found throughout the East. The plant has a strong onion scent and is edible. Many authors have tried to split this species into varieties based on the number of flowers or bulbs produced. I will not go into these here as the varieties are probably not valid. Bulb producing plants can be found growing right next to flower producing specimens.

the seeds curled among the leaves

Other Allium species are similar in appearance to this one but only A. canadense has the characteristic fiber coating on its bulb. Be careful not to remove the coating when digging the plant up to check.

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