Amaryllidaceae / Allium platycaule / Broadstemmed Onion

One of my new favorite onions. On a recent hike to search for Morels, we were met with our first true failure of the year…encountering only 3 dried and crispy specimens despite pulling nearly 10# out from the same location a week before. Water truly is life. However, in addition to a couple other wildflowers, these new-to-me onions came about as close to redemption as one might hope.

What separates these from the plethora of other Allium spp. in our neck of the woods is their girth. From their fist-sized inflorescences to their stout stems and wide leaves; it’s a big one. While the individual flowers are only about a centimeter or so in diameter, each umbel may have as many as 90 flowers!

The flattened, sickle-shaped leaves are typically only about ½ cm across and 30 cm long, although the ones we found had some leaves which were nearly 3 cm in width! Flowers are generally pink to magenta colored with yellow anthers.

As with other Allium spp., the entire plant is edible (and delicious). While the plant is not uncommon, we only recommend taking a small amount of the above-ground parts of these perennials, leaving the bulbs intact to continue on. Additionally, should you choose to harvest any native plants, we strongly recommend you become involved in tending your local ecosystems and to ensure your interaction to be a positive one.