Allium sharsmithiae, called the Mount Hamilton onion or Helen Sharsmith's onion, is a rare species of wild onion endemic to a small region in California. It is found on serpentine soils in the vicinity of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range south of San Francisco Bay in Santa Clara, Alameda and Stanislaus Counties.Flora of North America v 26 p 252, Allium sharsmithiaeBONAP (Biota of North America Project) 2013 county distribution map, Allium sharsmithiaeCalflora taxon report 233, Allium sharsmithiae (Traub) D. McNeal Sharsmith's onion
Description Allium sharsmithiae produces round to egg-shaped bulbs up to 2 cm in diameter. Flowering stalk is round in cross section, not hollow, up to 20 cm tall. Flowers are urn-shaped, up to 2 cm in diameter; tepals deep reddish-purple; anthers and pollen yellow.Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley.McNeal, D. W. 1992. A revision of the Allium fimbriatum (Alliaceae) complex. Aliso 13(3):411–426.Traub, Hamilton Paul. 1972. Plant Life 28: 64.
References
External links Pacific Bulb Society, American Alliums Seven several color photos of several species including Allium sharsmithiae Calphotos, Allium sharsmithiae several color photos of Allium sharsmithiae