Scientific Family
Liliaceae
Synonyms
Allium bilvalve, A. striatum, Nothoscordum bilvalve, N. sellowianum, N. striatum, Ornithogalum bivalve, O. carolinianum, O. gramineum
Other common names
crowpoison
false garlic
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Similar species
Nothoscordum gracile
Height
To nearly 16 inches
Riparian
Yes
Perennial resembling wild onion but lacks the onion odor. It has 1 to 4 green very narrow basal leaves and 1 flowering stem with elongated clusters of 3 to 6 star-like flowers at the tip. Each flower has 6 whitish petal-like tepals and a yellow center.
Similar to an onion, grows from a bulb, lacks onion smell; very narrow basal leaves; 1 stem of 3 to 6 flowers with 6 whitish tepals (petals and sepals), often with red or purplish mid-veins; 2 bracts below the flower clusters.
Habitat
Found in sandy moist soils in open woods, fields, prairies, pastures, roadsides, barren areas with scattered plant growth and in granite outcrops (areas of exposed bedrock with large boulders of eroded granite rock). Sometimes found in parks and on lawns.
Plant Community
Riparian
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
4000
High elevation
6500
Flower Characteristics
Flowers have 6 tepals (petals and sepals), often a red or purplish stripe (mid-vein), base of tepals yellow. Flowers are whitish and somewhat greenish at the base. Below each cluster of flowers (umbel) are 2 brownish papery leaf-like bracts.
Flower color
Whitish, yellow base
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
August
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves and stem emerge from a 3/4 inch brown bulb with a fibrous to papery surface. Stems are hollow and unbranched. Leaves are very narrow, flattened, 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide to about 12 inches long. There are 1 to 4 leaves per plant growing from the base.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit is a hairless, 3-lobed, egg-shaped to sphere-shaped capsule that is 1/4 to 1/2 inch long and wide. Immature capsules are green while mature capsules become light yellowish-brown and divide into 3 parts (lobes) to release their seeds.
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit color
Green, ages yellowish-brown
The seeds are black, have an elongated egg shape and are about 1/8 inch long. There are about 4 to 6 seeds in each lobe of a divided capsule.