Putnam Park Wildflowers


Flower ID: IMG_0177.JPG-05-23-2018
Flower name (scientific): Allium schoenoprasum Linnaeus PY: 1753. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) AL-ee-um sho-en-oh-PRAY-sum
Flower name (common): Wild Chives
Family name (common): Onion
Family name (scientific): Amaryllidaceae
Scientific name origin:
     Genus: Latin for garlic.
    Specific epithet: From the Greek words schoen for rush-like and prasum for leek-like, hence rush-like leek, referring to the appearance of the leaves.
Common name origin: Wild indicates not in cultivation and chives appears in old English under different spellings, cive and cipe, with the later referring to onion (OED).
Flower description:
     Size: 0.3 to 0.5 inches (0.8 to 1.3 cm)
     Petal count: 6
     Color: purple
     Other: flower arrangement, Cluster-spherical
Plant description:
     Size: 4 to 20 inches (10 to 51 cm)
     Stem hairy:
     Other:
Leaf description: attachment is alternate, type is simple
     Size:
     Color:
     Hairy:
     Other: Shape: leaf, filiform (IL). Shape: leaf, filiform (IL)
Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native
Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Uncommon
Bloom time (typical): June to July
Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial
Habitat: Streambanks, lake shores, wet meadows, sun or partial sun, rocky or gravelly conditions.
Fruit:
Seed:
Importance to wildlife:
Similar species (if any): There are native populations of Allium schoenoprasum in the midwest, but there are difficulties, caused in part by the polymorphic nature of the species, in differentiating the native species from plants that have escaped cultivation and established in the wild. Perhaps habitat may offer an aid to help separate the two forms.
Ethnobotany: No recorded uses by tribes in Wisconsin. Used by the Cheyenne, Inuktitut, Inupiat, and others as a food source (Moerman, pp. 58-59, 1998).
Latitude:
Longitude:
Altitude:
Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Ashland, Barron, Brown, Buffalo, Dane, Douglas, Eau Claire, Green, La Crosse, Marinette, Milwaukee, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Polk, Portage, Racine, Sawyer, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Wood) Click here for distribution map
In US: (AK, CO, CT, ID, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY) Click here for distribution map
In Canada: (AB, BC, LB, MB, NB, NF, NS, NT, ON, QC, SK, YT) Click here for distribution map
References:
Synonym(s):
Basionym: na
Homotypic Synonym(s):
Heterotypic Synonym(s): Allium montanum Schrank, Allium schoenoprasum L. var. alpinum DC., Allium schoenoprasum L. var. foliosum Regel, Allium sibiricum L.
Autonym: na
Wetland Status (NC): FACU
Wetland Status (MW): FAC