Hooker's onion
Allium acuminatum
The bulbs were historically a valuable food source for Indigenous peoples, who cooked them in pit ovens to sweeten their flavor.
- Scientific name
- Allium acuminatum
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Asparagales › Amaryllidaceae › Allium
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Dry, rocky soils, grassy slopes, sagebrush steppe, and open coniferous forests.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (Photosynthetic)
- Range
- Western North America, Pacific Northwest, California, British Columbia, Great Basin
- Size
- 10 to 40 cm tall, with bulbs 1 to 2 cm in diameter
- Lifespan
- Perennial (individual bulbs can live for several years, regenerating annually)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss due to urban development, invasive weed encroachment, and over-foraging in localized areas.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch. If foraging, exercise extreme caution: Hooker's onion closely resembles the highly toxic Death Camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum) when not in bloom. Ensure a positive identification by the distinct onion odor. If poisoned by a lookalike, seek emergency medical help immediately.
Allium acuminatum , also known as the tapertip onion or Hooker's onion , a species in the genus Allium and is native to the Western United States and Canada. It has been reported from every state west of the Rocky Mountains, plus British Columbia.
Photo: Alex Abair, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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