Shortstyle Onion

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(Allium brevistylum- Lily Family)

Edible and medicinal value: Indians used wild onions extensively. Their bulbs served as a staple and condiment to many different tribes. The crisp bulbs were gathered by Indians from Spring through early Fall. They were eaten raw and used as an ingredient in soups, stews and meat dishes. The bulbs also stored well for winter use.

Onions were by explorers and pioneers as well. The men of General George Crook's 1876 starvation march down the Yellowstone River partially survived on certain species of wild onion. Lewis & Clark also found them a welcome addition to a meat diet.

A few Indian tribes would crush the wild onion and apply it to bee and insect bites to reduce swelling and pain. Others used it to draw poison out of snakebites. A heavy syrup made from the juice of the wild onion was also used for coughs and other cold symptoms.

Wild animals such as bears, ground squirrels, and marmots also dig these bulbs. Milk cows that eat the foliage of the onion produce onion-flavored milk.

Habitat: Wild onions grow in dry to moist soil in valleys, open hillsides and ridges.

Description: The Shortstyle Onion has 2 leaves shorter than the stem which sheath at the base of the flower stalk. The sepals and petals together number six. The stamens are shorter than the pink sepals and petals. The leaves and stalk, as well as its bulb, have a characteristic onion flavor and odor.

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